Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (326 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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Iberians
[CP].
A series of cultural groupings that occupied the coastal regions of eastern and southeastern Spain during the 1st millennium
bc
. Their origins are unclear, although may involve some movements from North Africa. Their language was non-Indo-European and while their script is based on Greek characters there are additional syllabic signs. Some regional groups can be seen within the Iberian Culture, but there are widely shared elements of material culture, especially in jewellery and statues. The Iberians disappear in the early 1st millennium
ad
following the Romanization of Spain, partly through fusion with the peoples of the interior and partly no doubt through the displacement of their distinctive language by Latin.
ICAHM
[Ab].
Ice Age
[Ge].
ice-free corridor
[Ge].
A narrow strip of land along the east side of the Rocky Mountains in North America which escaped glaciation during the later Pleistocene and allowed human and animal populations from the north access to the continental interior.
ice house
[MC].
Building used for the storage of ice needed to keep food fresh before the advent of modern refrigeration. Particularly common during the 18th and 19th centuries
ad
. Usually consists of the small chamber either partly or wholly underground.
Icehouse Bottom, Tennessee, USA
[Si].
Archaic Stage settlement dating to about
c.
7500 bc on a river terrace in the Little Tennessee Valley. Excavated by Jefferson Chapman in the early 1970s; interpreted as the base camp for hunter-gatherer bands who exploited the surrounding territory. The situation of Icehouse Bottom was ideal for a base camp because of abundant supplies of animal and plant foods, and the presence of fine chert for toolmaking.
Evidence suggested that several bands used the camp at once, each family group living in a small skin, bark, or matting hut. Twenty-nine hearths were found as the only remaining evidence of these structures. White-tailed deer, black bear, elk, fox, opossum, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, turkey, and pigeon were hunted for food. They also fished, and gathered hickory nuts and acorns.
[Rep.: J. Chapman , 1973,
The Icehouse Bottom site 40MR23
. Knoxville: Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee]

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