1198 Glossarycadastral Relating to a register recording property owner-
ship boundaries, typically used to apportion taxes.
caementum A mixture of sand, lime, and crushed volca-
nic stone known as pozzolana that provided the basic
construction material for public and private buildings in
ancient Rome.
caesura A break or pause in the middle of a line of verse.
caiman A small crocodile native to Central and South
America.
cairn A mound of stones, oft en piled on top of a burial
chamber.
calcei Formal laced shoes worn with the Roman toga out-
side the house.
caldera A crater formed by the collapse or explosion of the
central part of a volcano.
camelid Any mammal from the camel and llama family
Camelidae.
cameo A material, such as gem, shell, or glass, carved in
relief, where the design and the background are of layers
of contrasting colors.
canon of human proportions A technique used by Egyptian
artists to guide them in maintaining the proportions of
human fi gures, using a square grid and allocating a speci-
fi ed number of grid squares to the parts of the fi gure.
canopic jar In ancient Egypt, one of four jars holding the
liver, stomach, lungs, and intestines of an embalmed per-
son for entombment with that person.
capital Th e top of a column.
caravan A group of people, vehicles, or supervised animals
that are traveling together for safety.
carbon steel A n a l loy of iron a nd ca rbon t hat is ha rder t ha n
pure iron.
cardo A north-to-south road that formed part of the central
axis of a Roman city, crossing the decumanus (east-to-
west road) at the city’s center.
carnyx A European war or ceremonial trumpet with a styl-
ized animal head at the bell end, usually made of beaten
sheet bronze; played while being held vertically over the
musician’s head.
cartouche In ancient Egypt, an oval fi gure that enclosed
the pharaoh’s name.
cash economy An economy in which money rather than
barter is used for buying and selling goods.
cassava A starchy root used in baking breads or cakes.
caste In ancient India, a social class based on birth that re-
stricted the professions, civil rights, and marriage pos-
sibilities of people born into it
casting A process in which molten metal is poured into a
mold and allowed to cool, taking the shape of the interior
of the mold.
castros Ancient fortifi ed towns inhabited by the Celtiberians.
cataract A rocky outcrop that produces rapids when water
runs over it; there are six major cataracts along the Nile
south of modern Aswān.catasterism Th e transformation of a mortal into a star, con-
stellation, or other celestial object.
cauterization Burning tissue with a very hot metal instru-
ment in order to stop infection.
cavetto cornice A concave molding shaped like a quarter
circle.
cella Th e inner chamber, or sanctuary, of a temple.
celt A prehistoric ax of stone or metal.
cenotaph A symbolic place of burial not containing the
remains of the owner; these false tombs were erected to
perpetuate the mortuary cult of the deceased or simply
to have an additional tomb in a sacred place.
cenote Freshwater-fi lled limestone sinkhole.
censor Th e most senior magistrates in ancient Rome, with
less power than consuls because they lacked imperium,
the authority to lead an army and the power of life and
death over citizens.
centaur A mythical creature that is part human and part
horse.
centuriation Th e process ancient Roman surveyors used
for marking out plots of land for Roman settlers.
centurion In the Roman army, the offi cer in charge of a
century, a group of foot soldiers.
century In the Roman army, a group of foot soldiers, origi-
nally set at 100.
chadar A heavy strip of cloth worn by ancient Indians to
protect the upper body.
chaff Th e husks of grain removed during threshing.
chaitya In Indian architecture, a building consisting of a
set of halls that people could use when an outdoor stu-
pa, or shrine, could not be used because of inclement
weather.
chamber pot Small tublike pot specially made to be kept in
the bedroom for use at night as a toilet.
champlevé An enameling technique where colored enam-
els fi ll channels cut directly into metal.
chantress A female singer engaged in religious rites.
chappal A type of sandal worn in ancient India.
characters Th e symbols representing concepts or words
used to write ancient and modern Chinese (and some
other languages) and borrowed to write Korean, Viet-
namese, and Japanese.
charnel A building in which human remains are depos-
ited.
chasing A way of working silver by hammering in a design
from the outer surface.
chassis Framework attached to the axles of a cart.
chattel In law, personal portable property; in the context of
slavery, a condition of ownership of slaves that included
the owner’s right to sell, donate, or devolve them to his
heirs but also to liberate them at will.
cheng Chinese word for “city” or “wall.”
chi Usually translated as “energy,” the Chinese concept of
the most basic physical element in the world.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1198 1198 10/10/07 3:30:36 PM