Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (33 page)

The Sumerian sky god and chief divinity whose seat was at
URUK
.

 
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Jackal-headed god of ancient Egypt mainly responsible for guarding tombs and the underworld and closely associated with embalming. Local god of the 16th and 17th nomes of Upper Egypt. Shown as a man with a jackal's head or as a black jackal seated on a hill, a chest, or a pylon.

 
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Egyptian goddess, associated with Khnum at the First Cataract and in Nubia. Shown as a woman with a crown of feathers, grasping a papyrus staff. Chief centre is the island of Seheil where she has a temple. Equivalent to the Greek Anukis.

 
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Ancient capital city from the introduction of Buddhism to the island in the 3rd century
bc
through to the 8th century
ad
when it was abandoned because of Tamil incursions from southern India. The site covers more than 100ha and amongst the numerous and important buildings in the city are palaces, monasteries, and
STUPAS
.
[Rep.: R. A. E. Coningham and F. R. Allchin , 1995, The rise of the cities in Sri Lanka. In F. R. Allchin (ed.),
The archaeology of early Historic South Asia: the emergence of cities and states
. Cambridge: CUP]

 
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A method of removing flakes by swinging the core against an anvil. Produces large thick flakes. Used extensively in the
CLACTONIAN
toolmaking industries. Also called the block-on-block technique.

 
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An early city of the late
SHANG
period near modern-day Anyang City in Henan Province, northern China. Excavations between 1928 and 1937 by Li Chi and more recent work by the Academia Sinica show that occupation starts in the 13th century
bc
. The town consists of an oval area about 3.75km by 9.75km, mainly unenclosed, but incorporating a temple complex, residential buildings, clusters of aristocratic houses, and workshops. The distinctive Anyang style of bronze working with prominent
TA'O T'IEH
. designs suggests a strong interest in death and ancestor worship. Its
ORACLE BONES
provide important information on early social organization. Perhaps the most important finds from the city relate to the cemeteries, which included over a dozen royal tombs. Each consists of a large square pit 14m across and 4m deep entered by either two or four ramps. At the centre an inner pit contained the body of the king set in a large wooden coffin. A small pit below the coffin held the bones of a dog. Around the central burial pit and on the ramps there were placed many grave goods and the bodies of the king's retinue (men and horses). Around the tomb, excavations have revealed numerous smaller pit graves and these seem to represent the accumulation of burials over a long period after the central prestige grave had been completed.
[Rep.: Li Chi , 1977,
Anyang: a chronicle of the discovery, excavation, and reconstruction of the ancient capital of the Chang Dynasty
. Folkstone: Daveson]

 
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