Glossary
A glossary of terms used across the History Nook website.
Terms in italics are transliterated from other languages.
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
A
Agora - (Ancient Greek) The marketplace, civic centre, and meeting place in an ancient Greek city-state.
Anachronism - An object which is associated with a time period other than that in which it is found or portrayed. (example: horns on Viking helmets.)
Ancient source - A source (literature, object, etc) dating back to antiquity.
Anthropology - The study of humans, including cultures and linguistics.
Archaeology - The study of human history through the analysis of pottery, jewellery, tools, architecture, weaponry, and other physical remains.
Archive - The name given to a place where museums and other institutions hold their documents and objects that are not on display.
Artefact - An artefact (also spelt artifact) is an object of cultural or historical importance that has been made or modified by human hands.
B
BCE - Before common era
C
Classical Greece - Refers to the period between 500 - 323 BCE in the region we now call Greece.
CE - Common era
Cognate - (Linguistics) Words in different languages that share a common root.
Collection - The name given to all of the objects and literature that is owned by a museum or other institution.
Context - (Archaeology) The location and position an object is found in.
D
Deity - A god or goddess.
Dendrochronology - The method of dating ancient wood and trees using tree rings.
Diphthong - (linguistics) The sound made by combining two vowels.
E
Ecofact - A natural object that tells us about human life such as animal bones and seeds.
Epithet - A term used in addition to or in place of a name.
Ethnie - (French) A term used to describe a group of people who self-identify with each other as a cultural group.
Etymology - The study of the history and origins of words.
F
Fossil - The preserved remains or trace of a prehistoric animal or plant.
G
H
Hellenistic - Refers to the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 336 BCE and the conquest of Egypt by Augustus in 31 BCE.
Historiography - The study of written history.
I
inscription - Words or an image that has been carved into a surface.
J - K
Krater - (Ancient Greek) The name of a large vessel used to mix wine with water.
L
Lithic(s) - (Archaeology) A tool (or tools) made from stone.
M
Material culture - Using physical objects created by people to study history. This can include architecture, clothing, tools, jewellery, pottery, decorative objects, etc.
Mesolithic - The middle stone age, roughly 12,000 to 6,000 years ago.
Midden - An ancient or historical trash pit.
N
Neolithic - The new stone age, when humans started farming crops and domesticating animals.
Non-provenanced - Refers to an object which lacks documentation of evidence of ownership or historical context.
Neologism - A newly coined word.
O
Orator - Someone who practices oratory.
Oratory - The art of public speaking.
P
Palaeolithic - The old stone age, when humans first started making stone tools.
Palaeontology - (paleontology) The study of prehistoric life, e.g. fossils, dinosaurs, and megafauna.
Pantheon - A group of deities associated with a specific religion or belief system.
Philology - The study of languages.
Prehistoric - Refers tot he time before humans started to write down history.
Primary source - A source (literature, object, etc) which is contemporary to the subject being researched.
Provenance - This can refer to the origin, ownership, or source of an object.
Q
R
S
Secondary source - A source (literature, object, etc) that refers to, or is a commentary on a primary source.
Skyphos - (Ancient Greek) A deep, two-handled wine cup.
Stratigraphy - The different layers or bands of dirt or rock in the ground.
T
Taxonomy - (Zoology) The practice of classifying animals and plants into the following hierarchy: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.
Transliteration - The process of converting text from one alphabet or writing system tinto another without translating the words themselves.
Trireme - A type of Classical Greek warship
U
V
W
X - Y - Z