Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World

closed form. Th is development was practical, in that it re- duced the likelihood that the oil might spill. By the third century ...

mon material was fi red clay, and large factories that manu- factured mass-produced terra-cotta lamps were prevalent throughout ...

religious functions, including funerals. Among Jews in the Roman Empire, lamps were used in observance of the Sab- bath, some ev ...

heft. One can imagine a group of hunters who had to encircle their quarry until someone had the idea of using cord made from tre ...

Ancient African inventors, many of them women, de- vised methods and devices for gathering, preserving, and preparing food (incl ...

sounds. What is almost unique about Egyptian writing is that the pictures were never completely replaced by abstract signs. Th r ...

When heated, the material hardened, and the surface de- veloped a colored glaze. Th e material is known from many examples of am ...

Th e production of food begat a societal revolution, as hu- mans would never live the same lifestyles as their foraging ancestor ...

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC BY KIRK H. BEETZ Tracing inventions, especially when they are from illiterate cultures, can be diffi cult. ...

thread was invented, though archaeologists and historians are sure it was originated by the Chinese. In ancient Chinese folklore ...

had not been cultivated previously, European farmers had to devise a heavier plow that turned over heavy clods of turf rather th ...

with the air supply now controlled by bellows and blowpipes. A much earlier metallurgical invention, however, was the lost-wax p ...

water over hundreds of miles of channels without running into the ground before it arrived at its intended destination. In addit ...

vided. At eight pounds per gallon, water is a fairly heavy sub- stance; consequently, the Vetruvian waterwheel was the most powe ...

As textile artists, ancient Americans were great innova- tors. Peruvians and Bolivians began using looms for weav- ing sometime ...

most creative methods of agriculture. Th eir development from around 8000 to 7000 b.c.e. of milpa, or slash-and-burn agriculture ...

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Peter Bogucki, Editor in Chief ENCYCLOPEDIA of Ancient Wor ld Society and Culture in the Volume III (language to roads and bridg ...

Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World Copyright © 2008 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved. No part of ...

Contents Advisers and Contributors v List of Illustrations xiii List of Maps and Primary Source Documents xx Preface xxiii Intro ...