1212 Glossarypithoi Large terra-cotta jars used for storage in ancient
Greece and Rome.
placebo eff ect Th e eff ect seen when patients improve as a
result of their positive expectations about the treatment
rather than as a result of the treatment itself.
placer deposits Glacial deposits that contain valuable min-
erals, especially gold.
plain weave A technique of passing weft threads alternately
over and under the warp threads.
plaiting Braiding a number of strips of leaf to create one
long strip for use in a basket or mat.
plano-convex A shape comprising fi ve fl at sides, each one
forming a plane, and one side curved upward, or con-
vex.
plaza Large open-air area for public gatherings, created by
the enclosure of buildings or mounds.
plebeian In Roman society, a commoner.
plinth An architectural support or base, such as small stands
for statues and larger platforms for entire buildings.
plowshare Th e metal blade of a plow.
pneumatics Th e study of the mechanical properties of gases.
pneumoconiosis A disease of the lungs caused by inhala-
tion of other irritating particles in the environment.
polestar Known as Polaris, the star that hangs above the
North Pole and is a useful navigational guide at night.
poliomyelitis Severe viral infection that aff ects the spinal
cord and brainstem and can lead to muscle wasting and
partial or complete paralysis.
polis (pl. poleis) A ancient Greek city-state.
polity A politically organized unit.
pollen analysis A type of analysis that studies pollen that
has survived for many thousands of years in waterlogged
or acid conditions in the soil to gain a picture of plants
growing in the vicinity the sample was taken from.
polychrome Multicolored.
polyculture Th e practice of planting several diff erent crops
in the same place, such as growing wheat among the
trees of an orchard or lentils between the rows of vines
in a vineyard.
polygamy Th e practice of marrying more than one spouse.
polyglot A person who speaks several languages and, hence,
a place where several languages are widely spoken.
polygyny Th e practice of having two or more wives.
polyreme A large, multi-oared warship.
polytheism A religious system based on the belief in and
worship of multiple gods.
pomerium A ritual boundary that separated the sacred
space of the Roman city from the nonsacred world be-
yond.
pommel A knob on the part of a bladed weapon that is held
in the hand.
pontifex maximus Th e chief religious fi gure in ancient
Rome.
porcelain A white, hard, almost transparent ceramic coat-
ed with colored glazes.pornai Prostitutes in ancient Greece.
port of trade Place where emissaries from central places
trade and exchange goods.
portico A porch with regularly spaced columns, or colon-
nades, oft en surrounding the sanctuary of a temple.
portoria Customs duties.
post mast A simple mast made of one long timber.
post Vertical timber joined to a ship’s keel at the bow
(stem) and the stern (sternpost) to receive the hull
planking.
post-and-beam construction An important early archi-
tectural design in which vertical posts, made of wood or
stone, support horizontal beams anchoring the walls and
roof; also called “post and lintel.”
potsherd A fragment of a clay vessel or other object.
potter’s wheel A circular platform that spins, on which wet
clay is shaped by a potter’s hands.
pozzolana Hard volcanic stone that went into Roman cae-
mentum, or cement, helping to make the walls of Roman
buildings impervious to fi re and moisture.
praetentura Th e quarters of elite troops within a Roman
camp or fortifi cation.
praetor In the government of ancient Rome, offi cials who
held imperium, or the authority to lead an army and the
power of life and death over citizens, and who were in
charge of litigation and courts of law.
Praetorian Guard Th e Roman emperor’s private military
troops.
praetorium Th e headquarters of a Roman camp or fortifi -
cation, built to house the legionary commander and the
unit’s symbolic banners.
precentor A person who leads worshippers in singing or
chanting prayers.
precession Th e movement of an axis of a rotating body,
causing it to “wobble” slightly in its orbit.
primogeniture Th e legal right of inheritance belonging to
the fi rst-born child, most oft en the eldest son.
proconsul A Roman consul whose imperium was contin-
ued aft er his year in offi ce as a promagistrate.
proletari, (pl. proletarii) People in ancient Rome who
owned no property.
pronominal A term use to describe the nature of a pro-
noun.
propylon A porchlike structure that typically served as an
entrance to the grounds of temples in ancient Greece.
prothesis A ceremony in which the corpse was laid out for
mourning at home.
protohistoric Historical era immediately preceding the
emergence of writing.
protolanguage An ancestral or root language, the basis for
a family of languages.
provenance Place of origin.
proyet Th e period when the waters of the Nile receded, lit-
erally meaning “the emergence.”
prytaneion A Greek city hall.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1212 1212 10/10/07 3:30:38 PM