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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section
of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts with a digit or symbol, choose the
'#' link.
- archaeologist
- a scientist who studies the remains of past and present humans
- artifact
- an object made, or modified by humans
- atl-atl
- a bone or wood shaft implement, held in one hand, and used to propel a spear. The
tool functions as a lever, giving greater thrust and distance to the spear or dart being
thrown
- awl
- a small pointed hand tool used for piercing holes in leather, wood, and other materials
- back dirt
- the excavated material from a site, presumed to be of little or no further
archaeological significance
- banner stone
- a stone that was attached to an atl-atl in order to make it a more effective weapon by
adding weight and balance
- behavior
- the way a person acts
- brochure
- promotional literature
- bundle burial
- human bones bundled together in some material and buried
- burial mound
- mound under which a person or group of people were buried
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- cardinal directions
- north, south, east, west
- catlinite
- another name for pipestone, a reddish sandstone used by Native Americans for making
pipes
- celt
- a small axe-like type of stone implement usually held in the hand used for working
wooden materials
- cemetery
- a location where individuals are buried
- ceremony
- a gathering of people for a program, usually serious in nature, for a specific purpose
- chert
- a fine grained sedimentary rock that is white, pinkish, brown, gray or blue-gray in
color. It is often shaped into stone artifacts by chipping
- clay
- material used for making pots
- clovis point
- large stone projectile point used by early American hunters to kill large game animals
- compass rose
- used to show direction on a map
- compound mound
- mounds that are made up of conical mounds connected by linear mounds
- conical mound
- a cone or oval shaped mound that usually contains human burials
- copper breast ornament
- a piece of pounded natural copper
- coulees
- steep sided valleys found along the Upper Mississippi Waterway
- cremation
- burials that are made from the remains of burned human bones
- cremation ashes
- fragments of charred human bones
- cultural diffusion
- the spreading of cultural traits from one society to another through trade or other
forms of contact
- culture
- way of life
- custom
- established practice; habit; tradition
- driftless area
- parts of NE Iowa, SE Minnesota, and SW Wisconsin that weren't affected by the most
recent ice age
- effigy mound
- mounds that are build in the shape of animals or birds
- erosion
- soil that is eaten away by water or wind
- estimation
- probable calculation or valuation
- excavated
- hollowed out cavity; explored
- extended burial
- the body is laid out flat, usually on the back
- fantasy
- stories set in an unreal world. Fantasy is based upon the imagination in one's
mind
- farming
- act of growing crops on the land
- feature
- evidences of human activity at a site visible as disturbances in the soil. Some
examples would be post molds, storage pits, or hearths
- flexed burial
- a body that is buried in the fetal position
- folsom point
- large stone projectile point used by early American hunters to kill large game animals
- grave goods
- objects placed with human burials meant to equip the person for the after life
- grit
- crushed stone or sand placed in clay in order to make potter vessels stronger
- haiku
- brief poem of seventeen syllables
- hide scraper
- a tool made out of bone or stone used for removing the flesh from an animal hide
- Hopewellian/Hopewell
- refers to a prehistoric culture from Ohio known for elaborate burial practices
- horticulture
- plant cultivation carried out with relatively simple tools and methods
- humerus
- the large upper arm bone
- intermediate directions
- northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
- interview
- a record of a conversation between an interviewer and a subject. The intent of the
interviewer is to provide for readers an overview and understanding of the subject being
interviewed.
- (empty)
- (empty)
- legend
- a story handed down from earlier times
- linear mound
- mound built in the shape of a cigar or candy bar
- littering
- unwanted debris
- living
- having life; existing; in action or use
- man-made changes
- any change caused by humans
- mano and metate
- stone implements used for grinding nuts, seeds, and other foodstuffs
- map key
- used to show features on a map
- map scale
- used to show distance on a map
- medicinal
- items use for a medical purpose, usually to cure or relieve a disease
- mega fauna
- the name given to the large ice age animals (i.e. mammoths and mastodons) that inhabited
North America at the time of arrival of the Early Americans
- Mississippi River
- river to the east of Iowa
- myth
- a tradition or fable; an invented story
- National Park Proclamation
- special distinction given to an area for the preservation and public education of a
historic site
- natural changes
- any change as a result of weather or other normal occurrence
- natural resource
- a material that comes from the earth
- nature
- environment
- negative
- an effect that is not in the best interest of something
- non-living
- matter or material that is not alive
- non-renewable resource
- something that can not be replaced
- observer
- one who observes; a spectator who takes notice of something
- obsidian
- a type of black stone (volcanic glass) found in the Western U.S.
- open pit mine
- a large scale mining operation that removes materials from the surface of a site.
A large hole or "pit" remains unless the land is reshaped
- outline
- the line surrounding an object
- phalanges
- human finger bones
- pipestone
- a soft red sandstone from a quarry in Southwestern Minnesota used for making pipes
- pollution
- contamination of soil, water, or air
- positive
- an effect that is certain to be good for something
- pot hunter
- person who digs or picks up archaeological materials without permission in order to
recover goods
- pot sherd (shard)
- an individual piece of a broken pottery vessel
- projectile point
- the tip of an arrow or atl atl dart, often made out of stone
- (empty)
- red ocher (ochre)
- powdered iron ore placed in a burial area
- renewable resource
- natural resource that can be replaced
- respect
- set of values which honor an individual, culture, or set of object
- road cut
- building of a road in the area
- rock shelter
- a rock overhang used as a shelter by Early Americans
- rules
- a set of defined actions permitted in a certain situation or location
- safety
- set of procedures which keep people or objects in good condition
- scapula
- the shoulder bone of an animal
- sensory-oriented
- oriented to touch, taste, sound, sight, hearing, heart
- snares
- loops of material (vine, fiber, leather, etc) used for catching animals
- story board
- written and visual representation outlining a concept
- strata
- layers of soil or earth
- tempering agent
- sand, stone, shell, clay or plant fibers added to local clays to prevent pottery from
shrinkage and cracking during firing or drying
- totem
- a plant or animal associated with a clan as a means of group identification. It
may have other significance for the group as well
- transcript
- a record of a conversation. Transcripts may be obtained from interviews, trials,
or someone's recollections
- (empty)
- values
- a set of beliefs a person holds to be important to him or her
- wildlife
- animals located in the wild
- woodland culture
- culture of prehistoric Native Americans in northeast Iowa
- (empty)
- (empty)
- (empty)
- (empty)
Revised: November 07, 1999.
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