Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (371 page)

A gummy sap obtained from the lac tree (Rhus vernicifera), which, when spread over the surface of an artefact and left to dry, will form an impermeable layer. Originally grey in colour, the sap hardens in moist air to a jet black, but this can be modified through the addition of dyes such as cinnabar, or arsenic sulphates.

 
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Ornate wooden domestic and funerary vessels common in China from the Shang Dynasty (14th century
bc
) onwards, manufactured by repeatedly coating a wooden or fabric pre-form with lacquer in order to build up a rich shiny surface.

 
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Latin term used in the later Roman empire to refer to barbarians who were settled by the Roman authorities as farmers in areas that had previously been deserted because of intrusive raids. In taking the land they also took an obligation, inherited by their descendants, to perform Roman military service.

 
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A large, two-handled flagon, at least 0.5m high, to be distinguished from an amphora.

 
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A series of late Pleistocene occupation sites in Minas Geiras, many of which have lithic industries in association with extinct animal species such as mastodon, sloth, and horse. Human remains may also be present, although controversy surrounds their association with the other materials. Hundreds of rock paintings dating to between 5000 bc and 1000 bc are also represented.
The rock-shelter of Lapa Vermelha IV was excavated by A. Laming-Emperarie in the 1970s and has a 13m deep stratigraphy which includes deposits dating back to before 12000 bc. Small quartz flakes were recovered. The Cerca Grande Complex contains deposits dating to between 8000 and 6000 bc. Small flakes of rock crystal as well as axes, bone projectile points, and burials are known. The nearby cemetery of Santana do Riacho contained over 50 flexed inhumations.
[Rep.: W. R. Hurt , 1960, The cultural complexes from the Lagoa Santa Region, Brazil.
American Antiquity
, 62, 569–85]

 
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Later Neolithic culture of the late 4th and 3rd millennia
bc
in northern Italy, named after the type-site lake village in the Po Valley. The culture is characterized by plain dark pottery, sometimes burnished, that appears mainly in carinated forms. These wares are generally seen as related to the western series of round-based Neolithic wares that includes
CHASSEY
and
CORTAILLOD
types. Lagozza Culture communities were mixed farmers, concentrating on cereals and dairy produce, although well-preserved waterlogged deposits reveal that wild fruits and nuts were important too. A few copper artefacts from Lagozza sites suggest the incipient development of metallurgy in the area, and are the earliest in northern Italy. Burial traditions are poorly known, but include some crouched inhumations in cists.

 
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