Glossary 1209model A small-scale reproduction of an object that could
magically be animated.
moiety One of two units into which a tribe or community is
divided on the basis of unilineal descent.
mold making Producing glass objects by pouring molten
glass into a hollow form, in order to make a certain shape
or decoration.
molding A decorative recessed or relieved surface on an
edge; a decorative strip used for ornamentation or fi n-
ishing.
monarchy A political system under which a single king or
queen holds supreme power, which is passed through the
family line by hereditary descent.
monotheism Th e belief in the existence of only a single di-
vinity.
monsoon A wind pattern that follows the same course ev-
ery year, bringing predictable weather, such as rain, with
it; also the intense rainfall or the season o rainfall associ-
ated with this wind.
monstra “Prodigies,” or a natural but strange occurrences,
such as the birth of a calf with two heads, regarded by
Romans as a warning from the gods.
moraine An accumulation of stones and debris carried and
deposited by glaciers.
morpheme A collection of speech sounds considered to be
the smallest language unit.
mortar A substance used as an adhesive to fasten courses
of bricks or stones together or as a plaster to protect the
surface of a wall.
mortarium A heavy Roman bowl with sharp stone fragments
embedded in its interior surface, used to grind food.
mortise and tenon A method for joining two planks of
wood by means of a series of projecting tongues cut into
the edge of one piece and slots cut into in the other.
mos maiorum A sense of tradition, one of the Roman vir-
tues.
mosaic A design made with small pieces of colored glass
or tile.
mud brick Bricks made from mud and straw and then dried
in the sun.
mummifi cation Th e Egyptian process of preserving the
body by the removal of internal organs, drying out the
corpse, and protecting it with linen wrappings.
mummy portrait Painting on a wooden panel made to
cover the face of an Egyptian mummy, usually done in
encaustic (wax) technique.
mundus A hole in the ground near the center of a Roman
city that was usually covered but when uncovered al-
lowed earth spirits to communicate with the city.
munus Gladiator show; from the Latin for “duty.”
murex An aquatic snail that lived in the Mediterranean
near Lebanon and was used as a source of purple dye.
murus gallicus “Gallic wall,” a type of rampart found at
many defended sites in ancient Gaul, consisting of tim-bers, fi lled with earth and stone, backed by stone walling,
and oft en fronted by a ditch.
music In ancient Greece, any of the arts associated with the
Muses: music, poetry, dancing, and drama.
musk A perfume originating from a sac inside the male
musk deer.
nadir Th e point on the celestial sphere directly below the
place on which the observer stands and opposite the
zenith.
natron A mineral form of hydrated sodium salts found in
dried lake beds.
necromancy Conjuring of the spirits of the dead in order to
communicate with them.
necrophilia Sexual attraction or contact with a dead body.
necropolis A cemetery, especially one of large size and usu-
ally of an ancient city.
nexum Debt bondage.
niche A setback or indented enclosure; a small concavity.
Nilometer A series of steps that were used to mark the height
of the Nile inundation as well as regular water levels
nirvana In Hinduism, the union of the human spirit with
Brahma (the god of creation) and in Buddhism the state
of blessedness in which the human spirit is released from
the cycle of reincarnation.
nomad A member of a people who move seasonally from
place to place to search for food and water or pasture for
their livestock.
nomadic pastoralism A form of pastoralism in which all
or most of the people move with their herds year-round
to fi nd pasture, living in temporary encampments and
oft en traveling great distances.
nomarch Th e ruler of a nome, a political and geographical
division of territory in ancient Egypt similar to a state in
the United States.
nome A Greek term for an ancient Egyptian province, of
which there were 42.
nomoi In Greek, “laws; the word could denote formally en-
acted laws as well as to established customs (“unwritten
laws”).
noncultic Nonreligious.
nopal A type of cactus eaten cooked or raw by ancient Me-
soamericans.
numerology Th e study of the occult, or mystical, infl uence
of numbers on everyday life.
numina A term early Romans used to refer to their gods,
usually translated as “presence” or “power.”
numismatics Th e study of coins and coinage.
nun Th e waters of primordial chaos in Egyptian cosmol-
ogy.
nundina A market day in Rome.
obelisk A tall, tapered, four-sided monument with a pyra-
mid at the top.
oblate A category of dependent person attached to the tem-
ples of the gods.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1209 1209 10/10/07 3:30:38 PM