1216 Glossaryspar A pole used for support on a watercraft.
speakers of the laws Legal specialists in the Persian Empire
who explained the ins and outs of the law to those involved
in court cases as well as helping to conduct those cases.
spear thrower Also called by its Aztec name, atlatl, a weap-
on used as an extension of the thrower’s arm to add force
and speed to a hurled spear or dart.
spelt A kind of wheat (Triticum aestivum spelta).
sphere of infl uence and sphere of interest A means of re-
serving a portion of territory from the political inter-
ference of another state; interest is assumed to be a less
signifi cant claim than infl uence.
spillway A channel carrying water around an obstruction.
spindle whorl A circular object that weights a spindle for
spinning to improve rotation.
spindle A pointed stick about 12 inches long, used for
spinning.
sprang Stretchy fabric woven of intertwined warp threads
only.
squinch A small arch built across the interior angle of two
walls.
stadion A term denoting both the rectangular ground upon
which the Greeks ran in competition and the name of a
race covering one length of this track.
stalactites Mineral deposit, oft en shaped like a spike, hang-
ing down from the ceiling of a cavern.
stalagmites Mineral deposit, oft en shaped like a spike,
pointing up from the fl oor of a cavern.
standard A wooden pole surmounted by an image used to
represent a town or province in Egypt.
stasis A political faction in Greece, or the strife caused by
such a faction.
statics Th e branch of mechanics dealing with weights in
static equilibrium.
statumen Mixture of stones used as a foundation for a Ro-
man road.
steganography A writing system used for hidden messages;
the message is literally hidden from readers other than
the intended recipient.
stela (pl. stelae) A carved stone slab, usually installed verti-
cally and used to commemorate an event or person.
steppe A vast treeless grassland
stepped fret A zigzag form resembling a mountain, es-
pecially the terraced mountainsides of the Andes—a
prominent feature in later Andean art and a symbol of
prestige.
stereometry Th e measurement of solid fi gures or volumes.
stoa A narrow hallway oft en found in the commercial dis-
tricts of Greek towns, with an open colonnade, where
merchants set up shops.
stola Th e long garment worn by married Roman women
over the tunic.
strategos “General,” one of the few elected offi cials in demo-
cratic Athens, with authority that oft en extended beyond
military matters.stratifi cation Division of people into social groups or classes
strut Bar used to draw weight down to a central point.
stucco A fi ne plaster used to cover walls.
stupa A dome-shaped mound serving as a Buddhist
shrine.
stylus An instrument, oft en made of reed, used by the an-
cients for incising or inscribing on clay or wax tablets.
suasaria In Roman rhetoric, an argument made to justify
or condemn a course of action.
subligaculum Also called a campestre, a garment worn un-
der the tunic and toga as underwear and as a sports gar-
ment.
subsistence farming Th e practice of agriculture that pro-
vides enough food to eat without an excess for sale.
suff ets Nonroyal magistrates who were granted control
over a Punic city-state.
sumptuary laws Laws designed to limit excessive consump-
tion or use of luxury goods.
sunk relief A form of stone carving where the background
is left as it is and the fi gures are carved into the stone.
supernova A star’s explosion, producing an exponential in-
crease in its luminosity.
surface mining Th e process of harvesting useful stone and
meta ls at above-ground sites, such as hi l lsides, a nd where
drilling underground is not necessary or desirable.
swastika A pattern resembling a cross with each arm bent
at a right angle, an ancient Hindu symbol (also used by
Buddhists and Jains); the term is derived from the San-
skrit word for “well-being.”
swidden An area cleared for temporary cultivation by cut-
ting and burning the vegetation.
sykophantes In the legal system of ancient Athens, a class
of professional prosecutors.
syllabary A written set of symbols that represent syllables.
sympathetic magic Magic that looks to achieve its ends
through imitation of the desired results.
symposium A drinking party for Greek aristocrats featur-
ing wine, games, poetry, and conversation.
synodic cycle Th e lunar phase cycle of 29.5 days.
synoecism In ancient Greece, the amalgamation of villages
and towns into a larger unit.
synoikiai In ancient Greece, blocks of apartment build-
ings.
syntax Th e grammatical arrangement of words in a
sentence.
syssitia In ancient Greece, military-style messes or eating
clubs to which every Spartan citizen belonged.
syumuu In ancient Egypt, the dry season from March to
July, literally meaning “the drought.”
t’un-t’ien Military colonies set up by the ancient Chinese.
tabby weave A type of weave in which a single thread from
the weft passes over and under one warp thread at a
time.
tablinum A “home offi ce” for the head of household in a
Roman home.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1216 1216 10/10/07 3:30:39 PM