Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (465 page)

Late Woodland chiefdom-based farming communities flourishing in the lower Mississippi Basin of North America from about ad 1150 down to European contact. Possibly descended from the Mississippian, the Natchez had two administrative levels. The upper level comprised the supreme chief (Great Sun) and a war chief (Tattooed Serpent) who ruled the whole tribe. Below these were a series of local chiefs who each ruled one of the nine regions into which the Natchez were divided. The two high-level chiefs lived in the Grand Village which comprised a few cabins and a temple built atop an earthen mound. The rest of the population lived in isolated hamlets and farmsteads.
Socially, the Natchez were organized into moieties, halves associated with cardinal directions. Individuals from one moiety married partners from the other.

 
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See
NATIONAL MONUMENTS RECORD
.

 
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A representative association of official state archaeologists working in the USA, limited to one delegate per state. Their aim is to communicate among themselves, share good practice, facilitate the conservation of cultural resources, and deal in a collective way with problems within the archaeological profession.

 
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An Act that came into force in the USA in 1966, and which has been variously amended since, which establishes a programme for the preservation of historic properties throughout the United States. It covers the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks; the creation of State Historic Preservation Officers; the need for federal agencies to take into account the impact on archaeological and historical resources of any projects they undertake or support (known as a Section 106 review); the establishment of a preservation programme by each federal agency; and the establishment of an Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

 
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A set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a given national community.

 
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In England, and similarly in other parts of the United Kingdom, the state agency responsible for the historic environment and maintaining a computerized database of recorded archaeological sites and remains. The English record has a number of elements, reflecting the historical development of the system. The
National Archaeological Record (NAR)
was developed from records initially created and held by the Ordnance Survey but transferred to the NMR in
c.
1980. These are basically descriptions and plans of archaeological sites with bibliographic links to associated reports and publications and additional material from surveys by the
RCHME
. Tied to the NAR are a series of indexes, including the Excavations Index which lists archaeological interventions and their results. The
National Buildings Record
was developed from a range of architectural records and surveys and includes details on all the protected buildings (listed buildings) in England. Finally, the
National Library of Aerial Photographs
is a collection of more than two million images (vertical and oblique) mainly taken since ad 1945, together with plots of areas that have been the subject of detailed study. A National Mapping Programme is undertaking a preliminary analysis of these pictures and the creation of a basic record of the archaeological features visible on them.

 
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