1200 Glossarysmaller diameter until the stones meet at the apex and
can lean against one another for support.
cordage Twisted fi bers that form thread, string, or yarn.
cordillera Parallel chains of mountains.
core forming Forming of glass by placing vegetal matter or
animal dung mixed with clay and sand at the end of a
wooden handle and either dipping it into molten glass
or drizzling molten glass onto it, aft er which the core is
rolled on fl at stone or metal to even and smooth the sur-
face.
core tools Tools that are shaped by striking off fl akes from
the central portion of a large pebble or cobble.
core–periphery model Economic and political relationship
between well-developed centers and less-advanced ones
that are in contact with them.
Corinthian One of the three orders, or styles, of Greek
architecture, distinguished by long, slim columns and
elaborate and detailed carvings on the capital.
cornice A molding at the corner between the ceiling and
the top of a wall.
corroboree Australian Aboriginal festivity with singing
and dancing, usually at night, to celebrate important oc-
casions.
corvée Unpaid labor exacted in place of taxes by a govern-
mental authority, usually for public works.
cosmogony Th e study of the origin of the cosmos or uni-
verse.
cosmology A system of beliefs used to describe the origin
of the universe.
cosmopolitan At home with many diff erent cultures of the
world; having a worldwide scope or composed of infl u-
ences or peoples from many parts of the world.
coulter A blade placed in front of the plowshare in order to
cut a vertical slice through the soil.
course A horizontal layer of brick or stone; courses are laid
on top of one another in building walls.
courtesan A prostitute who associates with socially elite
people.
cowrie shells Th e shells of a sea mollusk from the family
Cypraeidae, having shiny, colorful shells that are still
used as money in parts of the South Pacifi c.
cranial deformation Th e practice of using boards, mats, or
vices to shape the cranium or skull of an infant before
the bone has fused together and hardened.
crannog Found in prehistoric Ireland and Scotland, a forti-
fi ed island in inland waters or marshes built to protect a
settlement.
crucible A heat-resistant container in which ores or metals
are melted or heated.
cruciform Shaped like a cross.
cubicula Bedrooms opening from the atrium of a Roman
house.
cubit A unit of length that is equal to the distance between
a person’s elbow and his outstretched middle fi nger.
cuirass Body armor that covers the neck and chest.cult statue A statue of a god, believed to contain the god’s
essence and housed in a temple or sacred site to be used
as the focus of worship and ritual actions.
cultic calendar Th e schedule of interaction between a com-
munity and its deity.
cultigen A cultivated or domestic organism which has di-
verged enough from its closest wild relatives to be classi-
fi ed as a species, subspecies, or major variety.
cuneiform A form of writing invented in Mesopotamia
around 3400 b.c.e. that used a reed pen called a stylus to
make triangular marks on clay tablets.
cupellation A process used to purify silver by heating it to
remove lead and other impurities.
curia A building where the Roman Senate met.
cursive A form of writing Chinese characters in which
brushstrokes for one character fl ow into the brushstrokes
for the next character.
curule aedile In ancient Rome, patrician offi cials in charge
of various of Rome’s public works and functions, among
them, streets, traffi c, water supply, and markets and the
organization of religious festivals and cult observances
and also for public games.
cyfarwyddiaid Professional bards of ancient Wales.
cylinder seal A small object made of stone or other hard
material in which a scene or symbol is carved away from
the surrounding material; the seal is rolled across wet
clay or papyrus to leave a permanent impression.
dactyl A poetic foot that has one long syllable followed by
two short ones.
dais A raised platform that may be used for a table.
damask Th ick, heavy cloth with a pattern woven into it; the
weave is named aft er the city of Damascus, where silks
were woven in this pattern aft er the fi rst century c.e.
daub Mud or clay mixed with water as a kind of plaster.
daughter language Descendent languages from a protolan-
guage, or “original language.”
dead reckoning A method for estimating a ship’s position
through its speed, the distance that it has covered, and
the direction of its travel.
deben Egyptian unit of weight for measuring metals, most-
ly copper, the equivalent to about 3.5 ounces.
debt bondage A condition in which one who owes another
money or goods is forced to work until the obligation is
paid off.
decimal A system of representing numbers by assigning
values to diff erent places, such as 10s, 100s, 1,000s, and
so on in the base-10 system.
declamatio In Roman rhetoric, practice speeches given to
fellow students.
declension An infl ection of a noun or an adjective—a
change in its form to indicate a change in its grammati-
cal function.
decumanus An east-to-west road that formed part of the
central axis of a Roman city, crossing the cardo (a road
running north to south) at the city’s center.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1200 1200 10/10/07 3:30:36 PM