Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (60 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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Bacaudae
[Ge].
Celtic name of obscure meaning applied to the peasant rebels of northern Spain and Gaul from the 3rd to the 5th century
ad
. After
c.
ad 400 massive outbreaks of revolt in Armorica contributed to the breakdown of Roman power in the northern provinces.
bacini
[Ar].
Ceramic vessels placed for decorative reasons high in the walls of Christian churches in southern Europe between the 11th and 15th centuries
ad
.
backed blade
[Ar].
Blade tool blunted on one side by the removal of small steep flakes, the other side being left sharp. Some small examples may have been used as projectile tips, larger examples were probably knives with the blunted edge providing a finger-rest or to ease hafting.
backside
[Co].
Yard behind a house or cottage.
Badarian
[CP].
A predynastic agrarian culture of the Period 4500–3250 bc in Egypt, named after the site of El Badari in Middle Egypt. Its most distinctive material culture is its fine pottery, thin-walled and ripple-burnished, with a black band around the top of brown or red walls. Long-distance trade was carried out by Badarian communities who also developed the use of native copper for making beads. Barley and wheat were grown and cattle and sheep herded. Flax was grown and made into linen.
Baden Culture
(Baden–Pécel Culture)
[CP].
Final Copper Age communities living in central Europe, especially Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and parts of Germany in the early and mid 3rd millennium
bc
. The early phase of the Baden Culture (
c.
2750–2450 bc) equates with the Bolzeráz Culture of the Hungarian Plain, while in the middle and later phases (
c.
2600–2200 bc) there is greater similarity of material culture over a wider area. The settlements are generally dispersed with thin occupation layers. Metal tool types include axe-hammers and
TORCS
of twisted copper wire. The pottery is usually plain and dark in colour, sometimes with channelled decoration and moulded handles. Domestic horses are represented, and carts running on four solid disc wheels were introduced. The presence of ceramic vessels tentatively identified with milk processing, draft animals, and evidence for spinning suggests that the economy of these communities include strong elements of the
SECONDARY PRODUCTS REVOLUTION
.

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