Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (565 page)
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Authors: Timothy Darvill
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post-structuralism
[Th].
[Th].
A relativist philosophy based on the ideas and works of a number of French scholars working in the 1960s, notably Derrida , Lacan , Foucault , Barthes , and Kristeva , to develop earlier thinking by Hegel , Nietzsche , Husserl , Heidegger , Freud , and Marx . The approach challenges the
STRUCTURALIST
notion that there are fixed relationships between signs and meanings, between the signifier and the signified, arguing instead that meaning is contextualized within the individual and highly nuanced. A general trend of post-structuralist method, often termed deconstruction, is to unsettle any allegedly firm, detached, or neutral conclusions on the basis that claims of truth are internal to any particular discourse. In doing so it opens up alternative readings and meanings.
STRUCTURALIST
notion that there are fixed relationships between signs and meanings, between the signifier and the signified, arguing instead that meaning is contextualized within the individual and highly nuanced. A general trend of post-structuralist method, often termed deconstruction, is to unsettle any allegedly firm, detached, or neutral conclusions on the basis that claims of truth are internal to any particular discourse. In doing so it opens up alternative readings and meanings.
pot
[Ar].
[Ar].
potash-lime glass
[Ma].
[Ma].
A type of glass developed in northern Europe in the later 1st millennium
ad
in which potash was used as the flux in place of soda.
ad
in which potash was used as the flux in place of soda.
potassium–argon dating
[Te].
[Te].
An absolute dating technique similar to radiocarbon dating but applicable to much older deposits. It is used to determine the age of volcanic rock strata containing or sealing archaeological objects rather than to date the artefacts themselves. The technique works by measuring the ratio of radioactive potassium-40 to the stable gas argon-40 in volcanic rocks. Over time
40
K decays to become
40
Ar at a known rate, its half-life being 13000 million years. In volcanic rocks any argon present will have escaped when the rock was last molten but will start to accumulate again when it solidifies. Thus by carefully measuring the amount of
40
K and
40
Ar present in a sample it is possible to work out how long ago it was that the rock solidified. Because of the long half-life of
40
K the amount of argon present in samples less than 1 million years old is insufficient to measure, but the technique is very useful for work on early hominid deposits associated with volcanic layers.
40
K decays to become
40
Ar at a known rate, its half-life being 13000 million years. In volcanic rocks any argon present will have escaped when the rock was last molten but will start to accumulate again when it solidifies. Thus by carefully measuring the amount of
40
K and
40
Ar present in a sample it is possible to work out how long ago it was that the rock solidified. Because of the long half-life of
40
K the amount of argon present in samples less than 1 million years old is insufficient to measure, but the technique is very useful for work on early hominid deposits associated with volcanic layers.
potato
[Sp].
[Sp].
A leafy plant (Solanum tuberosum) which produces a starchy edible tuber. Native to the Lake Titicaca area of the southern Peruvian Andes. Domesticated by
c.
8000 bc in some areas (late Pre-Ceramic stage), but not until
c.
ad 500 in northern coastal Peru. Introduced into Europe in the 16th century
ad
and into Britain by Sir Walter Raleigh about ad 1585. Over a thousand different varieties of potatoes are known.
c.
8000 bc in some areas (late Pre-Ceramic stage), but not until
c.
ad 500 in northern coastal Peru. Introduced into Europe in the 16th century
ad
and into Britain by Sir Walter Raleigh about ad 1585. Over a thousand different varieties of potatoes are known.
pot boiler
[Ar].
[Ar].
The term used to describe small stones that have been heated in a fire and then dropped into vessels containing some kind of liquid in order to heat it up. Such stones are characteristically cracked or crazed on the surface from repeated heating and then quenching. See also
BURNT MOUNDS
.
BURNT MOUNDS
.
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