Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (645 page)

 
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An accumulation of fragmentary particulate matter derived from the erosion, decay, or weathering of natural deposits or man-made structures.

 
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A rounded arch, the arc of which is less than a semi-circle.

 
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Bowl of which the body forms part of the segment of a sphere.

 
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A social system comprising numerous relatively small autonomous groups who generally regulate their own affairs but who periodically come together to form larger groups and who, in some senses, may collectively appear to be a single large community. Segmentary societies tend to be agricultural societies living in small discrete areas of a larger identifiable territory.

 
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A style of chamber construction found amongst long barrows in northwest Europe in which the chamber is divided into a series of compartments by the use of septal slabs and jambs.

 
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Late Neolithic culture of the Paris Basin dating to the period 3400–2800 bc, characterized by a variety of tomb types including passage graves similar to those of Brittany, as well as local forms like simple stone-lined trench graves and underground gallery graves (allées couvertes), some with access through a circular ‘porthole’ in a blocking stone. Collective burial was practised. Grave goods include plain, flat-based, pots; leaf-shaped, tanged, and transverse arrowheads; a variety of stone ornamental pendants, amulets, and buttons; and occasional beads of copper.

 
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