1214 Glossaryrites of passage Rituals used within a community to mark
the transition of individuals from one status to another,
including weddings, funerals, and rituals of initiation.
river ordeal A method used in the ancient Near East to
reach a verdict when all else failed; the accused was
thrown into a river, being judged innocent if he or she
survived and guilty if drowned.
rock gong A large rock that produces a resonant tone when
struck.
Romanitas A sense of belonging to a great empire felt by
many of the conquered peoples of the Roman Empire.
Romanization Th e process of culturally changing foreign-
ers into Romans.
rondo A piece of music that has a central theme repeated
between contrasting sections.
rope stretchers Ancient Egyptian land surveyors who used
essentially modern surveying tools to remeasure indi-
vidual property lines on the farmland washed free of all
distinguishing features by the annual Nile inundation.
rudder A large paddle at the rear of a vessel that is manipu-
lated in order to steer the vessel.
rudus Mixture of components such as sand, soil, clay, or
concrete, which is used as a foundation for a Roman
road.
runes Form of writing in ancient Germany and medieval
Scandinavia.
rushes Marsh plants with hollow stems.
rushlight A type of early candle, consisting of the pith of a
stalky plant stem soaked in oil.
sacred barks Boats that carried the shrines of the gods in
ancient Egypt.
sakkia An Egyptian animal-powered waterwheel.
salient A segment of the wall that projects outward from
the wall.
salting A method of drying and preserving food.
san An ancient Chinese jacket.
sand-core technique Th reads of molten glass are wound
around a shaped core of sand; aft er the glass hardens, the
sand is removed.
sapper Engineer used to undermine or dismantle walls.
saqiya A waterwheel powered by a domestic animal, used
to collect water in buckets and raise it to an irrigation
ditch or container, used in ancient Egypt and the Near
East.
sarcophagus A coffi n made of stone, oft en decorated with
relief sculpture.
sari A long, wrapped Indian garment.
sarisa Th e long Macedonian spear, an innovation of Philip
of Macedon.
sarongs Long pieces of cloth that are wrapped around the
body.
saros cycle A period of about 18 years aft er which eclipses
of the sun and moon reoccur.
sastras and sutras Books of rules for conduct that formed
the foundation for ancient Indian law.satire Verse, prose, or a combination of the two that with
humor, and sometimes harshness, criticizes bad behav-
ior, hypocrisy, and other failings of society.
satrap A political offi ce in the Persian Empire and later in
the eastern kingdoms ruled by the successors of Alexan-
der the Great.
satrapy A Persian province, administered by a royally ap-
pointed governor, who was known as a satrap.
Saturnian A native Roman poetic meter that was composed
of two feet separated by a caesura, or pause, and that fell
out of fashion in the late third century b.c.e.
satyr play An ancient Greek farce on a mythological sub-
ject, with a chorus representing satyrs, deities that have
characteristics of horses or goats.
satyr A mythological creature that is usually part man and
part goat, known for excessive drinking and lechery.
savanna A fl at tropical or subtropical grassland.
scale armor Armor named for its resemblance to fi sh scales
and made by sewing small oblongs of bronze or iron to a
linen or felt shirt.
scale In music, a series of notes diff ering in pitch, varying
with the frequency of vibration.
scarab A beetle used as a charm to ward off evil.
scarifi cation Deliberate scarring of skin to create decora-
tive patterns.
schenti A fabric loincloth or skirt.
schistosomiasis Parasitic infection acquired by immersion
in water containing a certain species of worm; infection
can result in fever, fatigue, serious anemia, and even liver
damage.
scop Anglo-Saxon bard.
scoria Light volcanic ash that was used to extend concrete
and make it capable of supporting longer arches and
vaults.
scribe A man of letters in the ancient world who was capa-
ble of writing and who oft en worked as a teacher, a copy-
ist, or a public offi cial in the capacity of a clerk.
script A handwritten language.
scrivener A professional copyist or scribe.
scutum A rectangular or cylindrical shield.
scytale An encr y ption device consisting of rods and leather
straps.
seal A carved piece of stone pressed into moist clay to leave
an image that would be preserved when the clay was
fi red.
secondary burial Burial (or reburial) of bones from which
the fl esh has already decomposed. Th is practice implies
that the corpse was originally buried elsewhere or ex-
posed aboveground deliberately to reduce it to bones.
sedentary pastoralism A herding economy practiced by
people living in permanent settlements.
sedentism A culture’s shift ing from living in nonperma-
nent settlements to living in permanent settlements.
sediment core A sample of layers of sediment, taken from
lake bottoms or dry lands using a long cylinder, for the1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1214 1214 10/10/07 3:30:39 PM