Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (378 page)

Term applied to the second period of the Iron Age in Europe, following the
HALLSTATT
: on paul
REINECKE'S
scheme, broadly the period 450 bc to 50 bc. The culture is defined on the basis of finds from the site of La Tène in Switzerland, and is conventionally divided into three main phases: La Tène I,
c.
480–220 bc; La Tène II,
c.
220–120 bc; and La Tène III,
c.
120 bc down to the Roman conquest. Elements of the La Tène first appeared in southern Britain during the late Iron Age.

 
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In Egypt covering the 26th to the 30th Dynasties,
c.
664–332 bc, plus the second period of Persian occupation in the 31st Dynasty.

 
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Latin term for the areas on each side of the headquarters building in a fortress or of the general's tent in a camp; the central range in a camp or fort.

 
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Ferruginous rock formed in situ by the weathering of basic rocks under wet tropical conditions. When eroded and re-deposited it is called detrital laterite.

 
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A subdivision of the Woodland Stage defined for the archaeology of the eastern parts of North America which succeeds the middle Woodland around ad 400. The transition from middle Woodland to late Woodland saw the development of a complex patchwork of chiefdoms of different sizes throughout the eastern woodlands of the USA down to European contact. These were hunter-gatherer societies which indulged in limited farming based on cultivated gardens and small plots. The most distinctive late Woodland culture was the
MISSISSIPPIAN
.

 
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The final stage of the stoneworking industries in sub-Saharan Africa dating to the period from about 30000 years ago down into historical times.

 
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