Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (554 page)

Theories which emphasize the role of diverse and competing interest groups in preventing too much power being accumulated in the hands of political leaders.

 
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A society in which several ethnic groupings coexist, each living in communities or regions variously separate from the others.

 
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Period when the rainfall was greater than it is at present as a result of climatic changes during the
PLEISTOCENE
. Mainly refers to tropical and subtropical regions outside the limits of the main ice-sheets.

 
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An ancient Greek open-air auditorium for public assemblies.

 
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Term applied to professional merchants from Mexican states.

 
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1
The masonry platform on which a building is constructed.
2
A raised platform or dais from which speeches or orations are made.

 
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A distinctive kind of soil with an almost black organic horizon overlying a rather loose, bleached, and weathered horizon from which all the iron, aluminium, and other weatherable minerals have gone. At the bottom of the profile there are likely to be deposits of iron and aluminium oxides, and occasionally humic material too. Podzols develop naturally in areas of high rainfall and moorland vegetation.

 
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