Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (377 page)

General term referring to the most recent phase of the Archaic Stage as defined in North American archaeology. The late Archaic embraces a wide range of traditions and cultures and begins and ends at different times in different areas: in the eastern woodlands of North America it spans the period 5000–700 bc, whereas in the Plains and Great Basin it relates to the period from about 1000 bc down to ad 200.

 
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The later part of the
DEVENSIAN STAGE
when the glaciers and main ice-sheets were retreating. Chronoclimatic and vegetation zones provide subdivisions of this series of changes, while the main cultural groupings include Ahrensburgian,
CRESSWELLIAN
,
FEDERMESSER
, and Hamburgian.

 
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General term referring to the most recent of the seven main phases recognized in Andean archaeology: the period
c.
ad 1450–1533 when the Inca empire expanded to control most of the Andean region.

 
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General term referring to the fifth of the seven main chronological phases recognized in Andean archaeology, broadly the period
c.
ad 1000 to 1450. It follows the collapse of middle Horizon empires such as the Tiahuanaco and Huari, during which distinctive regional cultures emerged along the coast and in highland areas. The most extensive of these was the
CHIMÚ CULTURE
. The various polities that developed during the late Intermediate Period were subsequently conquered by the Inca empire.

 
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Iron Age site on the shores of Lake Neuchatel in western Switzerland, discovered in 1857 when the water level in the lake was unusually low. This revealed timber piles and a wide range of iron objects, especially weapons. Subsequent excavations by Emile Vouga between 1880 and 1885 and William Wabre and Paul Vouga between 1907 and 1917 have resulted in the recovery of a vast collection of objects, human skeletal material, and further evidence for timber structures, but no certain evidence for the purpose or nature of the site. While some scholars see La Tène as a settlement, others interpret it a timber platform on the edge of the lake, approached via timber causeways, from which votive deposits and perhaps burials were made. In support of this is the relative poverty of domestic debris from the site and the abundance of high-quality iron and bronze weapons and personal ornaments including: 166+ swords and scabbards, 269+ spearheads, 29 shields, 382+ brooches, and 158 belt clasps. In addition there is a bronze cauldron, dart wheels, wooden buckets, and tools for metalworking, woodworking, and leatherworking.
[Rep.: J. M. de Navarro , 1972,
Finds from the site of La Tène, I: Scabbards and the swords found in them
. Oxford: OUP]

 
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A style of ornamentation and decoration current from the 5th to the 1st centuries
bc
in western Europe showing influences from Scythian and Mediterranean art but also local originality, using bold abstract curvilinear designs with infilled zones. In those parts of northwest Europe untroubled by Roman invasions, La Tène art styles continued to develop through into the mid 1st millennium
ad
and beyond. Also known as Celtic art.

 
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