Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (664 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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skeuomorph
[De].
In archaeological usage, a non-functional survival in shape or decoration which implies derivation from an earlier form or from a prototype in another material.
skewer pins
[Ar].
Long thin bone pins, sometimes with elaborated heads, typical of the later Neolithic in the British Isles.
Skorba, Malta
[Si].
Major Neolithic site on the limestone Bidnija Ridge in northwest Malta excavated in 1961–3 by David Trump on behalf of the National Museum of Malta. The uppermost levels comprised a small temple that started life as a three-apsed structure in the Ggantija Phase (3600–3000 bc) before being extended in the Tarxien Phase (3000–2600 bc). Underneath is a fairly extensive settlement of the Ghar Dalam Phase (
c.
5000 bc) of the Maltese Neolithic, comprising houses with stone foundations and mud-brick walls. Nearby was what might be a precursor of the temples: an oval-roomed building dating to between 4300 and 4000 bc.
[Rep.: D. H. Trump , 1966,
Skorba
. London: Society of Antiquaries]
skyphos
[Ar].
A type of deep cup with two horizontal handles mounted near the rim, common in prehistoric Greece and believed to have been used as a drinking vessel.
slab construction
[De].
In studies of ancient ceramics this term refers to vessels produced by first joining slabs of clay together and them shaping the resultant vessel into the desired form by smoothing or Hammer and Anvil working.
slag
[Ma].
Partly vitrified non-metal residue and waste material left behind after the smelting of a metal ore or in glass-making.
slash and burn agriculture
[De].

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