1206 Glossaryinsula A Roman apartment building, usually multistoried.
interaction sphere In prehistoric cultures, groups that had
social interaction and exchanged material goods.
intercalation Th e addition of an extra day in the month,
or an extra month in the year, to ensure that the months
remain synchronized with the seasons.
interstadial A short period of relatively warmer climate
within an ice age.
inundation Predictable annual fl ooding events that renew
the soil and sustain ecosystems; oft en used to refer to the
fl ooding of the Nile.
Ionic One of the three orders, or styles, of Greek architec-
ture, distinguished by slender columns and capitals or-
namented with spiral scrollwork called volutes.
isegoria Th e principle in Athenian democracy under which
all citizens had an equal right to speak in the Assembly
and other public gatherings.
isolate An ancient language that has no similarities with
other languages and thus may have developed indepen-
dently.
isonomia “Equality under the law,” the basic idea of Athe-
nian democracy.
isostasy Th e rebounding of the earth’s mantle aft er it has
been depressed.
ius privatum Private law that was concerned with the legal
dealings between individual Roman citizens or groups of
citizens, as well as between citizens and noncitizens.
ius publicum Public law that regulated the relationship be-
tween the Roman state and its citizens.
jamb One of two uprights in a door frame that together
supports a crosspiece, or lintel, and that transfers the
weight of the wall above the door to the ground.
jaundice A yellowish discoloration of the skin symptom-
atic of diseases aff ecting the processing of bile.
javelin A lightweight spear designed to be thrown.
joinery Techniques or processes used to join pieces of
wood, usually referring to ways of cutting the wood so
that nails or screws are not required.
ju A Chinese shirt with a stiff , upright collar.
Julian calendar A solar calendar purportedly created by
the Greek astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and insti-
tuted by Julius Caesar in 45 bce.
k’uhul ajaw Mayan term for divine king.
kalasiris or calasiris A thin linen tunic.
karma In Indian spirituality, the positive or negative ener-
gy created by people during their lifetimes, determining
the states they will take in future lives.
kataginu A Japanese vest with broad, stiff shoulders.
keel A large timber running longitudinally at the bottom of
a ship from which the hull is built up and that provides
stabilization.
keep A fortress within a fortress.
kemet “Black land” in the Egyptian language, referring to
land that could be cultivated, in contrast to deshret (des-
ert), or “red land.”khapusa A heavy, knee-high boot that was worn in north-
ern India.
kinship Ties (either biological or cultural) that determine
human groups.
kitchen middens Accumulations of food and other debris
of human occupation, such as discarded tools and ashes
from hearths.
kithara An ancient stringed instrument used by the Greeks
and Romans, similar to the modern guitar.
kitharistēs A music teacher in ancient Greece, who taught
singing and playing the lyre, a stringed instrument like
a harp.
klinē A bed or couch in ancient Greece, consisting of a
wooden frame across which a webbing of leather or rope
would be woven to support the occupant.
klismos A chair in ancient Greece, with curved legs, no
armrests, and a curved, reclined back.
knight A member of the second-highest Roman social class,
rated by the value of property according to the census.
Knights were required to serve in the cavalry since they
could aff ord to buy their own horse and equipment.
knot A measurement of speed at sea equal to 6,076 feet per
hour.
kohl An eye cosmetic oft en composed of ground galena (a
black mineral), sulfur, frankincense, and powdered anti-
mony, which contains lead.
koine Th e “common” dialect based on Attic that developed
starting in the third century b.c.e. and became the basis
for Byzantine and Modern Greek.
kore (pl. korai) Representations of standing female nudes
from the Archaic Period of Greek art.
kouros (pl. kouroi) A fi gure of a standing male nude from
the archaic period of Greek art.
krypteia An annual secret campaign of assassination con-
ducted by the Spartans in ancient Greece against their
slaves, the helots.
ku Loose Chinese trousers.
kudurrus A boundary stone, which carried emblems and
symbols of the gods.
kurios Th e legal lord of a Greek household, with power over
and responsibility for all its members.
lacquer A coating used to made an object glossy; in China,
lacquer at fi rst came from the resin of the lacquer tree,
Rhus vernicifl ua.
lamassus Large-scale architectural sculptures of human-
headed winged bulls that abutted the entrance walls of
Assyrian palaces.
lamellae Th in iron plates that were used in the construc-
tion of armor.
lapis lazuli Semiprecious blue stone used in creating jew-
elry and other objects.
latifundium Originally, in ancient Rome, a large estate re-
lying largely on slave labor.
latitudinal Hav i ng to do w it h lat it ude , t he ge og r aph ic d i s t a nc e
of any point on the earth north or south of the equator.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1206 1206 10/10/07 3:30:37 PM