Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (807 page)

Zeuner, Fredrick Everard
(1905–63)
[Bi].

In 1935 he was appointed Honorary Lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology in London, becoming Professor of Environmental Archaeology there in 1952. He was largely responsible for developing the study of environmental archaeology in the Institute and his personality and achievements as a scholar brought him an international reputation.
[Obit.:
The Times
, 8 November, 1963]

 
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The local early Iron Age period between the 8th and 10th centuries
ad
in western Zimbabwe and the Limpopo Valley.

 
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Chalcolithic culture in north Baluchistan, Pakistan, dating to the 4th and 3rd millennia
bc
. Well represented at Periano Ghundai and Moghul Ghundai. Among the distinctive artefacts is a class of red-on-black painted pottery. Rows of attenuated stylized humped cattle and buck were popular motifs. Shapes include pedestalled dishes and deep goblets. Goggle-eyed hooded female figurines are especially distinctive of the culture. Bull figurines are also present and suggest connections with the
HARAPPAN
civilization. Buildings were of mud brick; burials were by cremation. In the succeeding
Incinerary Pot Phase
, cremations were placed in vessels under the floors of houses.

 
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An ethnic group which established itself as a major Chinese dynasty after overthrowing the Shang Dynasty in about 1027 bc. Once established, the Zhou Dynasty was the longest lasting in Chinese history, surviving down to 256 bc. The dynasty is traditionally divided into two major phases, the Western or Royal Zhou (1027–771 bc) and the Eastern Zhou (770–221 bc). During the Zhou Dynasty many of the numerous small states which characterized China in the first millennium
bc
were united and organized into successively stronger groupings. Originally a pastoralist people, the Zhou kingdom was organized on a feudal basis. During the Eastern Zhou royal power declined and there was a concomitant growth in the feudal fiefs, some becoming quasi-independent kingdoms. Major developments during Zhou times included the discovery of iron-working, the introduction of coinage, the construction of defensive works that would later form part of the Great Wall of China, and the institution of tiered administration. The Zhou Dynasty was eventually conquered by its rivals, the state of Qin, in about 220 bc.

 
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Cave site on a steep hillside southwest of Beijing where numerous fossil hominid remains have been found. In ancient times the cave would have been overlooking the sea; more recently it is in an area of limestone mining. Initial excavations in the late 1920s by Davidson Black revealed thirteen main horizons within the cave, the investigation of which was continued by Franz Weidenrich , Black's successor, in the period 1935–7. In the lower levels more than 40 examples of
HOMO ERECTUS
, locally known as ‘Peking Man’, were discovered and reported. They date to about 300000 bc. However, in 1941, when the Japanese were about to attack Beijing, the fossils disappeared after being packed for shipment to the USA. They have never been found, but more recent excavations by Woo Ju-Kang have found more early human remains together with stone tools and traces of the use of fire. In the upper levels there are skeletal remains of
HOMO SAPIENS
dated to about 25000 bc.
[Rep.: L. Jia and W. Huang , 1984,
Excavations at Zhoukoudian 1984
. Tiagin: Tiagin Publications of Science and Technology]

 
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Literally, the ‘high point’. A temple-tower with a square or rectangular ground-plan and a stepped profile built as a series of superimposed platforms. There are sometimes steps for access up one or more sides. Mainly found in Mesopotamia (especially Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian sites) and Mesoamerica. The platform on the top usually supports a building or temple dedicated to a particular deity.