Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (701 page)

An ecological term referring to the replacement of one dominant type of species by another, in a particular environment.

 
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Egyptian god. See
SOBEK
.

 
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Latin term for the hot dry-heat room in a Roman bath-suite.

 
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Germanic communities living to the east of the River Elbe from at least the 2nd century
ad
. In the invasion of ad 406, the Suebi crossed Gaul and founded a kingdom in Galicia, Spain, which survived until ad 585. The Franks, who annexed the lands to the east of the Rhine in the 6th century, continued to call these territories Suebia.

 
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Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was governor of Britain at the time of the Boudiccan revolt in
c.
ad 60. Having recently captured Anglesey, he retreated from North Wales and went on to defeat
BOUDICCA
. However, he was subsequently withdrawn from Britain because it was feared that he would abuse the Britons' surrender and punish future offenders too harshly.

 
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Chinese dynasty dating to the period ad 581–618 when China was reunited as a single state. The imperial family, from north China, were of mixed Tartar and Chinese descent. The second ruler brought the dynasty to ruin by excessive extravagance and unsuccessful wars with Korea.

 
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The earliest recognized civilization in the world, focused on southern Mesopotamia in what is now Iraq and Iran. The name is taken from inscriptions, and has been applied to the language represented on clay tablets. Sumer (Biblical Shinar) began in the early 4th millennium
bc
. The main stimulus to development was probably the need to organize farming groups previously living in the highlands of Iran to take advantage of the floods and droughts of the Tigris–Euphrates Valley. As a result, craft specialization, administrative organization, and great advances in architecture and sculpture followed. The political unit was the city-state, in which the patron deity was the major power in all matters, promoted through the priesthood and temple organization. Secular leaders were required in times of war but had little power otherwise. The various city-states were united under a common culture and religion. Political unification did not come until about 2370 bc with the conquest by the Semites of Akkad.