Absolute Dating (Assigning specific calendar dates)

Abu Simbel Temples (Colossal Egyptian temples, relocated from flooding)

Achaemenid (Persian Empire dynasty, 550-330 BCE)

Achaemenid Empire (First Persian Empire, efficient administration and roads)

Accession (Formal recording of an acquisition)

Accession Number (Unique identifier for an artifact)

Acquisition (Process of obtaining new items)

Acropolis (Athenian hilltop citadel complex)

Acroterion (Ornamental element at building apex or corners)

Acrylic Paint (Fast-drying, water-based synthetic paint)

Adhesive Mount (Non-permanent artifact attachment method)

Adobe (Sun-dried brick made of clay)

Adyton (Restricted inner area within a Greek temple)

Adena Culture (Early North American mound-building tradition)

Adze (Global prehistoric woodworking tool)

Aedicule (Roman shrine framed by columns/pediment)

Aegina Treasure (Minoan gold hoard from ancient Greece)

Aegis (Divine protective cloak in Greek iconography)

Aegis (Divine protective cloak in Greek iconography)

Aetolia (Region in ancient Greece, north of Peloponnese)

Aerial Photography (Capturing images from above)

Aesthetics (Principles concerned with beauty and art)

Ager Publicus (Roman public land acquired through conquest)

Agora (Greek civic and commercial gathering space)

Airbrush (Spray-painting tool for fine detail)

Ain Ghazal Statues (Neolithic plaster figurines from Jordan)

Ainu (Indigenous Japanese material culture)

Ajanta Caves (Indian Buddhist rock-cut art, 2nd c. BCE-6th c. CE)

Akragas (Significant ancient Greek city in Sicily)

Aksum Obelisks (Ancient Ethiopian stelae, marked important tombs 4th c. CE )

Aksumite Empire (African trade power, adopted Christianity early)

Alabaster (Soft, white, translucent mineral)

Alabastron (Egyptian/Greek slender perfume container)

Alae (Open rooms flanking the atrium in Roman house)

Alaca Höyük (Hittite ceremonial objects, Bronze Age Anatolia)

Aleppo Codex (Oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible)

Alepotrypa Cave (Neolithic Greek ritual site)

Alloy of mercury with another metal (Amalgam)

Altai Ice Maiden (Siberian Pazyryk culture mummy, 5th c. BCE)

Amalgam (Alloy of mercury with another metal)

Amazonomachy (Mythological battle between Greeks and Amazons)

Amphictyony (Ancient Greek religious or political association)

Amphitheater (Circular/oval open-air venue for public spectacles)

Amphora (Mediterranean ceramic storage/transport vessel)

Amratian (Predynastic Egyptian culture, Naqada I period)

Anasazi (Ancient Puebloan culture, SW North America)

Ancient (Belonging to the very distant past, typically before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE)

Ancient Carthage (Phoenician colony, Mediterranean power, Rome’s rival)

Ancient Ethiopian stelae, marked important tombs (Aksum Obelisks)

Ancient Greek double-reed musical instrument (Aulos)

Andronovo Culture (Eurasian Bronze Age, Indo-Iranian roots)

Anglo-Saxon England (Early medieval England, Heptarchy kingdoms era)

Angkor Wat (Khmer temple complex, 12th c. CE Cambodia)

Annealing (Heat treatment to reduce brittleness)

Annona (Roman public grain supply and distribution)

Anta (Pier forming the extended end of a wall)

Antefix (Roof-edge decorative terracotta element)

Antikythera Mechanism (Ancient Greek astronomical calculation device c. 100 BCE) )

Apadana Reliefs (Persepolis) (Persian tribute bearer carvings, ancient capital)

Apodyterium (Changing room in Roman baths)

Appraisal (Formal valuation of an object)

Apse (Semicircular recess, often in temple east end)

Apsidal (Global architectural form with semicircular end)

Aquae Sextiae (Early Roman colony in southern Gaul)

Aquatint (Etching technique for tonal areas)

Aqueduct (Roman engineered water conveyance system)

Arcadia (Mountainous region in the central Peloponnese)

Archaic period (Greece) (Greek history, city-states formed, early democracy)

Archaic Period (Early Greek history, 700-480 BCE, art flourished)

Archaeobotany (Study of plant remains in archaeology)

Archaeogenetics (Study of ancient DNA)

Archaeometry (Scientific dating/analysis of artifacts)

Archaeozology (Study of animal remains in archaeology)

Arches (Roman) (Curved architectural support structures, key innovation)

Archive (Collection of historical records)

Archival Box (Acid-free container for documents)

Archival Tape (Special tape for document preservation)

Archival Tissue (Acid-free paper for wrapping objects)

Archon (Classical Athenian chief magistrate position)

Architrave (Lowest division of classical entablature)

Areopagus (Ancient Athenian high court and council hill)

Armature (Internal support for sculpture)

Arretine Ware (Roman fine red-gloss pottery, 1st c. BCE-1st c. CE

Artifact (Human-made object of historical interest)

Aryballos (Greek athlete’s oil or perfume flask)

Aryballos (Greek athlete’s oil or perfume flask)

Aryk (Central Asian desert irrigation canal system)

Asclepeion (Sanctuary dedicated to the god of healing)

Ashlar Masonry (Precision-cut stone construction technique)

Ashurbanipal (Assyrian king’s library at Nineveh, 7th c. BCE)

Askos (Etruscan ritual pouring vessel form)

Assemblage (Art made by joining various objects)

Assemblage (Collection of artifacts from a site)

Assyrian Empire (Mesopotamian empire, military innovation, Nineveh library)

Astragal (Architectural molding or gaming bone)

Athens (Capital city of ancient Greece, center of culture)

Atlatl (Global spear-throwing leverage device)

Atrium (Central open courtyard of a Roman house)

Attica (Region surrounding Athens in ancient Greece)

Attribution (Assigning an artwork to an artist)

Attribution (Assigning origin to an object)

Audio Guide (Recorded tour information for visitors)

Augering (Drilling to sample subsurface deposits)

Augustus (First Roman Emperor, ushered in Pax Romana)

Aulos (Ancient Greek double-reed musical instrument)

Aurignacian Culture (Upper Paleolithic tool tradition, 43,000-28,000 BP)

Authentication (Verifying the genuineness of an object)

Avalokiteshvara (Buddhist bodhisattva artwork)

Awl (Universal piercing/engraving tool)

Axum Obelisk (Ethiopian stelae, 4th c. CE)

Axumite Kingdom (Horn of Africa trade empire, 1st-8th c. CE)

Ayllu (Inca kinship-based land management system)

Aztec Empire (Mesoamerican alliance, Tenochtitlan was the capital)

Aztec Sun Stone (Mexica calendar stone, 15th c. CE)

Baetylus (Sacred stone, often of meteoric origin, in ancient religions)

Backlighting (Illuminating an object from behind)

Backlog (Unprocessed items in a collection)

Bactria-Margiana Complex (Central Asian Bronze Age civilization)

Bactrian Camel Figurine (Silk Road trade art, 3rd c. BCE-3rd c. CE)

Bactrian Gold (Afghan Hellenistic treasures, Tillya Tepe hoard)

Bactrian Gold (Greco-Bactrian jewelry hoard from Afghanistan)

Baetylus (Sacred stone, often of meteoric origin, in ancient religions)

Balawat Gates (Bronze gates from Assyrian Nimrud, depicting military campaigns)

Baluchistan Neolithic (Early agricultural settlements in the Baluchistan region)

Balzac Monument (Sculpture by Auguste Rodin, several versions exist)

Bamian Buddhas (Giant destroyed Buddha statues in Afghanistan)

Ban Chiang (Thai Bronze Age site, 1500-300 BCE)

Bandiagara (Mali Dogon cliff dwellings, 15th c. CE onward)

Bandolier Bag (Large, heavily decorated pouch worn across the shoulder, common in some Indigenous cultures)

Bantu Expansion (Migration across Africa of Bantu speakers)

Baray (Khmer hydraulic reservoirs, Angkor period)

Barrier (Physical separation for artifact protection)

Barrow (Burial mound, found in various prehistoric cultures)

Bas-Relief (Low-relief sculpture projecting slightly)

Basketry (Art and craft of weaving plant fibers into containers or other forms)

Battle-Axe Culture (Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age culture in Northern Europe)

Baths (Roman) (Public bathing complexes, social and recreational hubs)

Batammaliba Architecture (Togo/Benin earth structures)

Bayeux Tapestry (Embroidery depicting the Norman Conquest of England)

Bayon Temple (Cambodian face towers, Angkor Thom complex)

Bazaar (Covered market or street where goods are exchanged, common in the Middle East and Asia)

Beadwork (Art of creating decorative patterns or objects by stringing or sewing beads)

Beaker Culture (European Bronze Age, 2800-1800 BCE)

Belt Hook (Ornate clasp or fastener for belts, found in various ancient cultures)

Benin Bronzes (Plaques and sculptures from the Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria)

Bent Pyramid (Egyptian transitional architecture, Sneferu’s reign)

Bento (Japanese-style packed meal, sometimes with elaborate presentation)

Berlin Gold Hat (Bronze Age ceremonial headdress artifact)

Behistun Inscription (Multilingual inscription, key to cuneiform decipherment)

Biface (Stone tool flaked on both sides, such as a handaxe)

Bhimbetka (Indian rock shelters with Paleolithic art)

Biennial (Exhibition held every two years)

Binder (Substance holding pigment in paint)

Biomagnetics (Study of magnetic fields produced by living organisms, used in archaeology for site detection)

Bilingual Inscription (e.g., Rosetta Stone, Behistun)

Birdstone (Prehistoric carved stone object, function uncertain, found in North America)

Bireme (Ancient Mediterranean warship, Phoenician/Greek)

Biscuit Firing (First firing of unglazed pottery)

Blade (Archaeology) (Flake of stone that is at least twice as long as it is wide, with parallel or subparallel sides)

Black-figure pottery (Greek ceramic style, black figures on red)

Bireme (Ancient Mediterranean warship, Phoenician/Greek)

Biscuit Firing (First firing of unglazed pottery)

Blade (Archaeology) (Flake of stone that is at least twice as long as it is wide, with parallel or subparallel sides)

Black-figure pottery (Greek ceramic style, black figures on red)

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (Assyrian monument with biblical references)

Bleeding (Migration of color in a material)

Blemmyes (Nubian nomadic tribe depicted in Roman art)

Block Printing (Method of printing textiles or paper using carved wooden blocks)

Blowpipe (Tube through which projectiles (like darts) are propelled by breath)

Bog Body (European Iron Age wetland mummies)

Bogazköy Archive (Hittite cuneiform tablet collection, Anatolia)

Bodhisattva (In Buddhism, an enlightened being who postpones their own nirvana to help others achieve enlightenment)

Bolus (Art) (Fine clay used as a base for gilding)

Bone Bed (Archaeological or paleontological site where numerous animal bones are concentrated)

Borobudur (Indonesian Buddhist stupa, 9th c. CE)

Bouleuterion (Greek council house, e.g., Athens)

Boustrophedon (Writing system in which lines alternate in direction, one line reading left to right, the next right to left)

Bracteate (Thin, single-sided gold pendant common in Northern Europe during the Migration Period)

Brazier (Portable container for burning coals or charcoal)

Brick Stamp (Inscribed or decorated stamp used to mark bricks before firing)

Bridle Bit (Part of a horse’s harness that goes in its mouth and is used for control)

Brooch (Ancient clothing fastener, fibula type)

Bronze Age (Metallurgical period, 3300-1200 BCE)

Bronze Age (Greece) (Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations flourished)

Bronze Casting (Pouring molten bronze into a mold)

Bronze Disease (Form of corrosion that affects copper alloys like bronze)

Bruttii (Ancient Italic people in Calabria)

Bucrania (Roman architectural bull-skull motifs)

Buccina (Ancient Roman brass instrument, a type of trumpet)

Bucchero Ware (Etruscan black pottery, 7th-5th c. BCE)

Bull-Leaping Fresco (Minoan Knossos, 1500 BCE)

Bulla (Roman amulet case for protective charms)

Bulla Regia (Roman Tunisia subterranean villas)

Bundu Mask (Sierra Leone Sande society ritual art)

Burial Goods (Artifacts placed in graves, often reflecting beliefs about the afterlife)

Burin (Paleolithic flint engraving tool)

Burnishing (Polishing a surface to a sheen)

Burnt City (Iranian Shahr-e Sukhteh, 3200-2350 BCE)

Burnt Offering (Zagreus altar sacrifices)

Bush Barrow (British Wessex culture, 2000 BCE)

Butcher Marks (Zooarchaeological cut evidence)

Buto (Egyptian predynastic center, Nile Delta)

Buttressing (Supporting structure against a wall)

Byblos Script (Proto-Phoenician, 2nd millennium BCE)

Byre (Cow shed or barn, often found in archaeological contexts of early agriculture)

Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman continuity, 330-1453 CE)

Byssus (Ancient sea-silk from pen shells)

Cache (Hidden collection of objects)

Cahokia (Largest Mississippian settlement north of Mexico)

Cahokia Mounds (Mississippian complex, 600-1400 CE, Illinois)

Cairo Geniza (Medieval Jewish manuscript trove from Egypt)

Caligae (Roman military sandals with hobnailed soles)

Calligraphy (Art of elegant handwriting)

Cameo (Relief carving on layered material)

Campus Martius (Field of Mars, Roman public gathering area)

Cang Jie (Mythic Chinese script inventor, Shang dynasty)

Capitoline Hill (One of Rome’s Seven Hills, site of temples)

Caral-Supe (Peruvian Norte Chico civilization, 3000-1800 BCE)

Carborundum (Abrasive material for grinding)

Cardo (North-south main street in Roman city planning)

Carolingian Empire (Frankish realm under Charlemagne, medieval Europe’s precursor)

Case Furniture (Display units with enclosed space)

Casein Paint (Paint made with milk protein binder)

Catalog (Systematic list of collection items)

Catalog Raisonné (Comprehensive scholarly work on an artist)

Cataloging (Process of documenting museum objects)

Caryatid (Greek architectural female column, e.g., Erechtheion)

Castrum (Roman military camp, often precursor to cities)

Çatalhöyük Wall Paintings (Neolithic mural art from ancient Turkey)

Catalog (Systematic list of collection items)

Cave of Altamira (Paleolithic cave paintings in northern Spain)

Cavea (Seating area in Roman theaters and amphitheaters)

Cella (Inner temple chamber, e.g., Parthenon naos)

Celtic Cultures (Iron Age Europe, La Tène art, druids)

Censor (Roman magistrate overseeing census and public morals)

Centurion (Professional officer commanding a Roman century)

Ceramic Glaze (Vitreous coating fused to pottery)

Ceramics (Objects made from fired clay)

Chacmool (Mesoamerican sacrificial altar, Toltec/Maya)

Chalcatzingo (Olmec-influenced Mexican site, 1500-500 BCE)

Chalcolithic (Copper Age) (Transition between Neolithic and Bronze Age)

Chaperone (Attendant guiding a group)

Chasing (Metalworking to refine embossed designs)

Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave (Ice Age cave art in southern France)

Chavín de Huántar (Andean ceremonial center, 900-200 BCE)

Chavin Culture (Early Peruvian religious center, Andean unity)

Chiaroscuro (Strong contrast between light and dark)

Chimu Featherwork (Andean textiles, 1100-1470 CE)

Chiton (Greek draped garment, Archaic-Classical periods)

Chlamys (Short cloak worn by men in ancient Greece)

Choga Zanbil (Elamite ziggurat, 13th c. BCE, Iran)

Cippus (Etruscan/Roman boundary stone, 6th c. BCE onward)

Circulation (Movement of objects for exhibitions/study)

Circus Maximus (Ancient Roman chariot racing stadium)

Cishan (Chinese Neolithic millet site, 6500-5000 BCE)

Cista (Etruscan bronze box, 7th-4th c. BCE)

Classical period (Greece) (Greek zenith, Athens’ democracy, Persian Wars)

Classical Period (Greek zenith, 480-323 BCE, democracy in Athens)

Cloaca Maxima (Rome’s sewer system, 6th c. BCE)

Cloaca Maxima (Rome’s ancient sewer system)

Cloisonné (Enamelwork with wire partitions)

Clovis Point (Paleo-American spear tip, 13,000-12,700 BP)

Coenaculum (Dining room on upper floor of Roman house)

Codex (Ancient book form, e.g., Maya bark-paper)

Codex Borgia (Mixtec ritual manuscript, pre-1500 CE)

Coffer (Roman ceiling recess, Pantheon example)

Cold Working (Shaping metal without heating)

Collection (Accumulated items of interest/value)

Collage (Art made by gluing materials to a surface)

Colony (Greek settlement in a new territory)

Columbarium (Roman niche tomb, e.g., Ostia)

Comitia Centuriata (Roman assembly based on military divisions)

Conchoidal Fracture (Lithic tool production signature)

Consul (One of two chief magistrates in Roman Republic)

Conservation (Preservation and repair of artifacts)

Conservation (Preservation and protection of artifacts)

Conte Crayon (Hard chalk for drawing)

Context (Association of artifacts at a site)

Copán Hieroglyphs (Maya writing, 5th-9th c. CE)

Coprolite (Paleofeces evidence, e.g., Oregon caves)

Core (Lithic) (Stone tool production remnant)

Corbel Vault (Bronze Age roofing, Mycenaean tombs)

Corinth (Important city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth)

Corinthian order (Most ornate Greek architectural column style)

Cornice (Greek/Roman architectural crown molding)

Copyright (Legal right protecting creative works)

Couching (Attaching threads to fabric with stitches)

Crete (Largest Greek island, center of Minoan civilization)

Creswell Crags (British Ice Age art, 13,000 BP)

Crochet (Needlework creating looped stitches)

Crozier (Bishop’s staff, Early Christian art)

CRM (Cultural Resource Management) (Managing cultural heritage sites)

Cubiculum (Small room, often a bedroom, in Roman house)

Cucuteni-Trypillia (Neolithic Eastern Europe, mega-settlements existed)

Cucuteni-Trypillia (European Neolithic, 5500-2750 BCE)

Cueva de las Manos (Argentine cave art, 13,000-9,500 BP)

Cuerdale Hoard (Viking silver, c. 905 CE, England)

Cultural Ecology (Study of human-environment interaction)

Cultural Heritage (Legacy of physical and intangible attributes)

Cultural Resource Management (CRM) (Managing cultural heritage sites)

Curator (Museum professional overseeing collections)

Curia (Roman Senate house, Forum Romanum)

Cursus Honorum (Sequential order of public offices in Rome)

Cuneiform (Mesopotamian script, 3400 BCE onward)

Cupellation (Silver/lead refining, Laurion mines)

Cyrus Cylinder (Persian decree, early human rights statement)

Cyclades (Group of islands southeast of mainland Greece)

Cycladic Art (Aegean marble figurines, 3300-2000 BCE)

Cycladic Frying Pan (Aegean fertility symbol, Early Bronze Age)

Cyclopean masonry (Large, roughly fitted stones, Mycenaean architecture)

Cylinder Seal (Mesopotamian administrative tool, 3500 BCE))

Dacia (Iron Age kingdom in modern Romania, conquered by Rome)

Dagger (Double-edged bladed weapon)

Dagger-Axe (Ge) (Chinese Shang dynasty polearm weapon, 1600-1046 BCE)

Dais (Raised platform for seating)

Daimyo Armor (Japanese feudal warlord gear, 12th-19th c. CE)

Daisenryo Kofun (Japan’s largest keyhole tomb, 5th c. CE, Osaka)

Dama de Elche (Iberian limestone bust sculpture)

Damask (Reversible patterned fabric)

Damascening (Inlaying metal with gold or silver)

Danelaw (Viking-ruled territory in England)

Danube Script (Neolithic European symbols)

Dark Ages (Post-Roman European period)

Datum Point (Fixed reference for site mapping)

Dazu Rock Carvings (Chinese Buddhist grottoes, 7th-13th c. CE)

Dead Sea Scrolls (Ancient Jewish religious texts and manuscripts)

Deaccession (Formal removal of items from collection)

Debitage (Stone tool production waste)

Decapitation (Ritual beheading practice)

Decorated Ware (Neolithic painted pottery, Near East/Europe)

Decumanus (East-west main street in Roman city planning)

Decurion (Roman cavalry officer)

Defixio (Roman curse tablet)

Deir el-Medina (Egyptian artisan village, Valley of the Kings)

Deme (Classical Athenian political district, 6th c. BCE onward)

Demotic Script (Late Egyptian cursive writing, 650 BCE-5th c. CE)

Dendra Panoply (Mycenaean bronze suit of armor)

Dendrite (Mineral inclusion resembling tree)

Dendrochronology (Tree-ring dating method)

Denisovan DNA (Paleogenetic evidence from Siberian caves)

Denticulate (Stone tool with serrated edges, Paleolithic/Neolithic)

Desiccation (Drying preservation process)

Dharmachakra (Buddhist wheel of law symbol, Sanchi Stupa)

Dhyāna Mudra (Buddhist meditation pose in sculpture)

Diadem (Royal headband ornament)

Diatom (Microscopic algae used in dating)

Diatreta (Roman cage-cup glassworking, 1st-4th c. CE)

Dictator (Roman) (Temporary magistrate with absolute power in crisis)

Digitization (Converting physical items to digital formats)

Dioscuri (Roman twin horseman deities, Castor & Pollux)

Diorama (Three-dimensional miniature scene)

Didgeridoo (Australian Aboriginal instrument)

Didrachm (Ancient Greek silver coin, 6th-4th c. BCE)

Diet Analysis (Study of ancient nutrition)

Diffusion (Spread of cultural traits)

Dig House (Archaeological expedition headquarters)

Dike (Ancient Greek justice goddess)

Dilmun Seals (Bahraini trade artifacts, 2200-1800 BCE)

Dinar (Roman/Islamic gold coin, 1st c. CE onward)

Ding (vessel) (Chinese ritual bronze, Shang/Zhou dynasties)

Dingiswayo (Pre-Shaka Zulu leader, early 19th c.)

Diolkos (Greek ship trackway, 6th c. BCE, Corinth)

Dioptra (Ancient surveying instrument)

Dipinti (Ancient wall inscriptions)

Dipteral Temple (Greek double-colonnade design, e.g., Didyma)

Dipylon Amphora (Geometric period funeral vessel, 8th c. BCE)

Diquís Spheres (Costa Rican stone orbs, 300-1500 CE)

Discus (Ancient Greek athletic implement)

Distaff (Tool for spinning thread)

Divination (Practice of foreseeing future)

Diyu (Chinese underworld depictions, Han dynasty tomb art)

Djed (Egyptian stability symbol)

DNA Analysis (Genetic study of remains)

Dockyard (Ancient shipbuilding facility)

Docent (Volunteer museum guide and educator)

Documentation (Detailed records of museum objects/sites)

Dogū (Japanese Jomon period figurines)

Dolabra (Roman pick-axe tool)

Dolium (Large Roman storage jar)

Dolmen (Neolithic megalithic tomb, Atlantic Europe/Korea)

Dolni Věstonice (Czech Gravettian figurines, 29,000-25,000 BP)

Domitian’s Palace (Flavian imperial residence)

Domus (Private Roman house, typically for the wealthy)

Dongba Script (Naxi pictographic writing, SW China)

Dong Son Culture (Vietnamese Bronze Age, famous for drums)

Dong Son Drum (Vietnamese bronze age artifact, 600 BCE-200 CE)

Doppelsöldner (German Renaissance mercenary)

Doric Order (Simplest, most monumental Greek architectural column style)

Dormitory (Communal sleeping quarters)

Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) (Iconic Classical Greek sculpture of athlete)

Double Axe (Minoan ritual symbol)

Dovecote (Structure for housing pigeons)

Drachma (Ancient Greek silver coin, 6th c. BCE onward)

Dragon Bones (Oracle bone inscriptions)

Drapery (Artistic depiction of folded cloth)

Drawing Ink (Liquid pigment for drawing)

Dresden Codex (Maya astronomical manuscript, 11th c. CE)

Drill Bit (Ancient boring tool)

Dromedary (Single-humped camel)

Dromos (Mycenaean tomb entrance passage, e.g., Treasury of Atreus)

Dry Masonry (Incan mortarless construction, e.g., Machu Picchu)

Drypoint (Engraving directly onto a plate)

Duck Stamp (Mesopotamian cylinder seal motif, Uruk period)

Dugout (Ancient type of dwelling)

Dugout Canoe (Hollowed-log watercraft)

Dunhuang Manuscripts (Silk Road texts, various languages and scripts)

Dunhuang Star Chart (World’s oldest atlas, c. 700 CE)

Dvaravati Art (Thai Mon kingdom sculptures, 6th-11th c. CE)

Dvaravati Kingdom (Mon-Buddhist SE Asia, Thailand’s early form)

Dwarka (Indian submerged city, Gujarat)

Dzibilchaltún (Maya celestial observatory, Yucatán)

Earthfast Post (Prehistoric structural support, Neolithic wood construction)

Easter Island Moai (Monolithic human figures on Rapa Nui)

Ebla Tablets (Syrian cuneiform archive, 2500-2250 BCE)

Ecbatana (Median capital gold hoard, modern Hamadan, Iran)

Ecofacts (Natural materials with cultural significance)

Edicts of Ashoka (Mauryan stone proclamations, 3rd c. BCE India)

Edition (Numbered set of identical prints/sculptures)

Education Department (Museum section for learning)

Edfu Building Texts (Egyptian temple construction manuals, Ptolemaic period)

Egtved Girl (Danish Bronze Age burial, c. 1370 BCE)

Egg Tempera (Painting medium using egg yolk as binder)

Egg-and-Dart (Greek/Roman architectural molding pattern)

Egyptian Blue (First synthetic pigment)

Egyptian Book of the Dead (Funerary texts)

Egyptian Calendar (Solar calendar)

Egyptian Cartouche (Oval enclosure for royal names)

Egyptian Faience (Glazed ceramic material)

Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Ancient writing system)

Egyptian Mummy (Preserved body)

Egyptian Pyramids (Royal tombs)

Egyptian Sarcophagus (Outer coffin)

Egyptian Ushabti (Funerary figurines)

Ekkyklema (Wheeled platform used in Greek theater)

El Mirador (Maya megacity, Preclassic period, Guatemala)

El Niño (Climate pattern affecting archaeological sites)

Elamite Empire (Pre-Persian Iran, Susa was the capital)

Elamite Script (Ancient Persian writing system, 3rd millennium BCE)

Elgin Marbles (Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum)

Eleusis (Town in Attica, site of important mysteries)

Embalming (Preserving bodies)

Embossing (Raising a design on a surface)

Emishi (Japanese indigenous resistance to Yamato rule, Kofun period)

Emporion (Greek trading colony, e.g., Emporiae in Spain)

Enamel (Vitreous substance fused to metal)

Encaustic (Painting with molten wax)

Enkolpion (Early Christian pectoral cross, 4th c. CE onward)

Enkomi Ingots (Cypriot copper trade oxhide ingots, Late Bronze Age)

Entablature (Classical architectural element: architrave+frieze+cornice)

Entablature (Superstructure above columns, includes architrave, frieze)

Engraving (Cutting lines into a surface)

Ephebe (Athenian youth military trainee, 18-20 years old)

Epic Cycle (Collection of ancient Greek epic poems)

Epic of Gilgamesh Tablets (Oldest surviving major work of literature)

Epic of Sundiata (Mali oral tradition, 13th c. CE foundation myth)

Epigraphy (Study of ancient inscriptions, e.g., Rosetta Stone)

Epigraphy (Study of ancient inscriptions on stone)

Epipalaeolithic (Near Eastern transitional period, 20,000-10,000 BP)

Epinetron (Greek women’s weaving tool, thigh-shaped ceramic)

Eponymous Archon (Athenian dating system, named after officials)

Erechtheion (Complex Ionic temple on the Athenian Acropolis)

Ertebølle Culture (Scandinavian Mesolithic culture, 5500-3900 BCE)

Erlitou (Chinese Bronze Age site, possible Xia capital, 1900-1500 BCE)

Esagila (Babylonian temple complex, Marduk’s sanctuary)

Eshnunna Laws (Mesopotamian legal code, c. 1930 BCE)

Esquiline Treasure (Roman silver hoard, 4th c. CE)

Estufa (Southwestern Native American ceremonial structure)

Ethics (Moral principles guiding practice)

Ethnography (Study of human cultures and societies)

Ethnoarchaeology (Studying modern cultures to understand the past)

Ethnos (Greek tribal/regional identity, e.g., Dorians/Ionians)

Etruscan Alphabet (Writing system of the Etruscan civilization)

Etruscan Art (Distinctive artistic style of pre-Roman Italy)

Etruscan Civilization (Pre-Roman Italy, influenced Roman culture greatly)

Etruscan Language (Non-Indo-European language of ancient Etruria)

Etruscan Liver Model (Bronze divination tool, Piacenza example)

Etruscan Mirror (Bronze hand mirror, often engraved)

Etruscan Necropolis (City of the dead, burial complexes)

Etruscan Sarcophagi (Decorated burial chests from ancient Italy)

Etruscan Temple (Distinctive architectural style with high podium)

Etruscan Thunderbolt (Bronze votive offerings, 5th-4th c. BCE)

Etruscan Tombs (Necropolis burial chambers, e.g., Tarquinia)

Eunotosaurus (Proto-turtle fossil, Permian period)

Eunuch Stele (Assyrian court records, Nineveh)

Ewuare (Benin Empire ruler, 1440-1473 CE golden age)

Excavation (Systematic digging to uncover artifacts)

Excavation (Systematic digging at an archaeological site)

Exhibit (Public display of artifacts/information)

Exedra (Greek semicircular discussion space in stoas)

Exhibition Catalogue (Publication accompanying an exhibition)

Exhibition Design (Planning the layout of a show)

Exhibition Label (Text providing information about exhibits)

Exomis (Greek laborer’s short tunic, pinned at shoulder)

Experimental Archaeology (Testing hypotheses through replication)

Extispicy (Mesopotamian liver divination practice)

Ex-Voto (Votive offerings, e.g., terracotta body parts)

Eye Bead (Ancient protective amulet, Phoenician glass)

Eye Goddess (Neolithic Anatolian figurines, Çatalhöyük)

Fabrication (Construction of exhibit components)

Fading (Loss of color due to light exposure)

Falcata (Iberian curved sword)

Fan Shan (Chinese jade burial suits site)

Farnese Cup (Hellenistic cameo glass bowl masterpiece)

Fasces (Bundle of rods with axe, symbol of Roman authority)

Faunal Analysis (Study of animal remains in archaeology)

Faunal Remains (Animal bones and other remains found at sites)

Favissa (Sacred object deposit pit)

Fayum Mummy Portraits (Roman-era Egyptian funerary panel paintings)

Feasting (Ritualized consumption of food and drink)

Feminist Archaeology (Examining gender in the past)

Fenestration (Arrangement of windows in a building)

Fermentation (Biochemical process used in food/drink production)

Fertile Crescent (Early agriculture region)

Fibula (Ancient brooch/clasp)

Fibula Prenestina (Early Latin inscription)

Fides (Roman goddess of trust)

Fieldwork (Archaeological research conducted outdoors)

Figurine (Small sculpted figure)

Filigree (Delicate metalwork with fine wires)

Filitosa (Corsican menhir statues)

Fire Drill (Tool used for starting fire by friction)

Fire-Cracked Rock (Stone broken by heating and cooling)

Firing (Heating pottery in a kiln)

Fish Weir (Structure built in water to trap fish)

Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum’s formal name)

Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) (Iconic Roman amphitheater in Rome)

Flexed Burial (Body interred in a curled position)

Flotilla Fresco (Aegean naval scene)

Flotation (Water separation for recovering small remains)

Fluting (Column groove decoration)

Fluvial Deposits (Sediment laid down by rivers)

Follis (Roman bronze coin)

Folsom Points (Paleo-Indian spear tips, North America)

Foodways (Cultural practices related to food)

Footed Krater (Wine-mixing vessel)

Foramen (Anatomical bone opening)

Forge (Hearth used for heating metal)

Forma Urbis (Ancient Rome’s marble map)

Fortification (Defensive structure)

Fossilia Directa (Undisturbed artifacts)

Fracture Analysis (Studying how materials break)

Fragile (Easily damaged or broken)

Frame Loom (Simple type of loom for weaving)

Franchthi Cave (Greek 35,000-year occupation)

Frankish Kingdom (Early medieval Europe, Charlemagne’s significant realm)

Fremont Figurines (North American artifacts)

Fremont Petroglyphs (Utah rock art)

Fresco (Painting on wet plaster)

Fresco (Wall painting on fresh, moist plaster)

Fresco (Wall painting technique)

Fresco Painting (Painting on wet plaster)

Fresco Secco (Painting on dry plaster)

Friable (Easily crumbled or broken)

Frigidarium (Cold bathing pool in Roman baths)

Frieze (Horizontal band above architrave, often decorated)

Fritware (Islamic ceramic material)

Fronto-Parietal (Skull bone positioning)

Fufeng Bronzes (Western Zhou cache)

Fufeng Qiang (Chinese oracle bone references)

Fukuchani (Zanzibar early trade site)

Fukui Pottery (Japanese Jomon ceramics)

Fulcrum (Roman dining couch support)

Fullonica (Roman laundry facility)

Funan (Early Southeast Asian kingdom in Mekong Delta)

Funanese Glass (Early SEA beadmaking)

Funanese Gold (Cambodian maritime kingdom)

Funanese Ivories (Mekong Delta carvings)

Funanese Script (Early Southeast Asian writing)

Funerary Stele (Grave marker monument)

Funnel-necked Beaker (Corded Ware culture)

Funnel-shaped Crucible (Bronze Age metallurgy)

Funnelbeaker Culture (Northern European Neolithic)

Fuxi & Nüwa (Chinese creator deities)

Fuxianhuai (Chinese lost-wax bronze casting)

Gable (Triangular upper part of a wall)

Gadroon (Metalwork decorative pattern)

Gadroons (Ornamental convex curves)

Galea (Roman helmet)

Galena (Lead ore source)

Gallery (Room or space for exhibitions)

Gallery Lighting (Controlled illumination for display)

Gallo-Roman (Romanized Celtic culture)

Gamurra (Etruscan garment style)

Gandhara Art (Greco-Buddhist style)

Gandhara Manuscripts (birch bark scrolls)

Gandharan Friezes (Greco-Buddhist art)

Garamantes (Saharan underground cities)

Garamantian Irrigation (foggaras system)

Garnet (Red silicate mineral, gemstone)

Garum (Roman fish sauce condiment)

Gauze (Fine, sheer fabric)

Gaya Confederacy (Korean iron culture)

Gazetteer (Geographical dictionary)

Gbekli Tepe (Turkish Neolithic sanctuary)

Gbekli Tepe Carvings (Oldest known monumental temple reliefs)

Gbekli Tepe Pillars (world’s oldest temple)

Geghard Monastery (Armenian rock-cut)

Gela Treasure (Hoard of Sicilian Greek silver coins)

Gematria (Hebrew numerical code)

Geminus (Roman twin constellation)

Genealogy (Study of family history)

Geniza (Storage of worn-out religious texts)

Gens (Roman clan or family group with common ancestor)

Genre Scene (Everyday life depiction in art)

Geochronology (Dating geological formations)

Geoglyph (Large design on the ground)

Geomancy (Divination using earth patterns)

Geometric Period (Greek art style)

Geometric Style (Greek art period)

Geophysical Survey (Non-invasive subsurface investigation)

Gerousia (Spartan council of elders)

Gerund (Latin verbal noun)

Gesso (White primer for painting surfaces)

Ggantija Temples (Maltese megaliths)

Gija Tomb (Korean legendary Chinese ruler)

Gilding (Applying thin layers of gold)

Gilding (Gold surface application)

Gilt Bronze (Gold-coated alloy)

GIS (Geographic Information System) (Mapping and spatial analysis)

Glasinac Culture (Balkan bronze artifacts)

Gladiatorial Helm (Arena combat gear)Gladius (Short sword used by Roman legionaries)

Gladius Hispaniensis (Roman sword type)

Glassblowing (Roman glass production)

Glaze (Ceramics) (Vitreous coating on pottery)

Glaze (Vitreous coating on ceramics)

Globular Amphora (Neolithic vessel type)

Glyptic Art (Stone engraving technique)

Goguryeo Murals (Korean tomb paintings)

Göktürk Khaganate (First Turkic empire, Silk Road power)

Göktürk Khaganate [First Turkic empire, Silk Road power]

Goropius (Dutch linguistic pseudohistory)

Gorgon (Mythological protective figure)

Gorgon (Mythical female creature with snakes for hair)

Goryeo Celadon (Korean porcelain)

Gouache (Opaque watercolor paint)

Granite (Igneous rock used in construction)

Granulation (Attaching small metal beads to a surface)

Graphite (Soft carbon used for drawing)

Grauballe Man (Well-preserved Iron Age bog body from Denmark)

Grave Circle A (Mycenaean royal burials)

Grave Circle B (Earlier Mycenaean burials)

Grave Goods (Items buried with the deceased)

Grave Stele (Inscribed tombstone)

Great Zimbabwe (African stone city, gold trade hub)

Great Zimbabwe Walls (drystone masonry)

Greco-Buddhist Art (Gandhara style)

Greek Dark Ages [Post-Mycenaean decline, led to Archaic Greece]

Griffin Fresco (Minoan mythical creature)

Grinding (Abrasive shaping or smoothing)

Grisaille (Monochromatic painting in shades of gray)

Grotesque (Ornamental figure)

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (Subsurface imaging technique)

Ground Stone Axe (Polished stone tool)

Ground Truthing (Verifying remote sensing data on the ground)

Guachimontones (Mexican circular pyramids)

Guano (Accumulated excrement, used as fertilizer)

Guilloche (Ornamental braided pattern

Gundestrup Cauldron (Elaborate Celtic silver vessel)

Gundukan Cermai (Indonesian megaliths)

Gupta Empire (“Golden Age” of India, science and art)

Guttae (Doric architectural ornaments)

Gwanggaeto Stele (Korean king’s monument)

Gyarspari Hoard (Hungarian bronze age deposit)

Gymnasium (Public facility for athletic training and education)

Gypsum (Soft sulfate mineral)

Hafting (Attaching a handle to a tool)

Hagia Sophia Mosaics (Byzantine Christian art in Istanbul)

Half-life (Time for half of radioactive isotope to decay)

Hallstatt Culture (Early Iron Age Europe)

Hammering (Shaping metal with a hammer)

Hammurabi’s Code (Babylonian law stele with legal text)

Hand Axe (Bifacial stone tool)

Hand Drum (Ancient percussion instrument)

Hand Scroll (Early form of written document)

Haniwa (Japanese Kofun terracottas)

Haniwa Figures (Japanese burial sculptures)

Haniwa Pottery (Japanese ancient earthenware)

Haremhab’s Edict (Egyptian legal reforms)

Harappan Civilization (Another name for Indus Valley cities)

Hardstone Carving (Engraving semi-precious stones)

Harris Matrix (Diagramming archaeological stratigraphy)

Haruspex (Etruscan divination priest)

Hathor (Egyptian goddess of love and beauty)

Hathor Capital (Egyptian column design)

Hatra (Ancient Mesopotamian city)

Hatra (Parthian desert city)

Hatra Sculptures (Parthian-era stone carvings from Iraq)

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) (Northeastern Native American alliance, enduring presence)

Hazor Cuneiform (Bronze Age diplomatic archive)

Hazor Ivories (Canaanite luxury goods)

Hearth (Fireplace or cooking area)

Hekatompedon (Early Athenian temple)

Helios Relief (Sun god depiction)

Hellenistic Period (Greek culture spread after Alexander’s conquests)

Hellenistic Period (Greek-influenced era after Alexander, blended cultures)

Hellenistic Period (Post-Alexander era)

Henge (Neolithic circular earthwork)

Heraclea Tablets (Legal inscriptions)

Heritage (Something inherited from the past)

Herm (Boundary marker sculpture)

Heroon (Hero worship shrine)

Hesperides (Mythological garden nymphs)

Hieratic Script (Egyptian cursive writing)

Hieroglyph (Symbol in writing systems like Egyptian)

Hieroglyphics (Egyptian writing system)

Hillfort (Iron Age fortified settlement)

Himera (Ancient Greek city on the northern coast of Sicily)

Himiko (Japanese shaman queen records)

Himyarite Inscriptions (Old South Arabian script)

Hippodamian Plan (Grid city layout)

Historical Archaeology (Study of sites with written records)

Hittite Empire (Anatolian Bronze Age power, early iron use)

Hittite Sun Disk (Anatolian ritual object)

Hoard (Deliberate artifact deposit)

Hohle Fels Venus (German Paleolithic figurine)

Hohokam Ballcourts (Arizona ancient sport)

Hohokam Culture (North American desert farmers, irrigation systems)

Hologram (Three-dimensional image created by light)

Hopewell Culture (North American mound-builders tradition)

Hopewell Effigies (North American mound artifacts)

Hoplite (Heavily armed foot soldier in ancient Greece)

Horizon (Distinctive widespread archaeological layer)

Horizontal Excavation (Wide digging to expose site layout)

Horos Stone (Athenian boundary marker)

House Urn (Vessel-shaped cremation container)

Hoxne Hoard (Large Roman gold and silver treasure find)

Huari Quipu (Andean knotted records)

Huari Tapestry (Andean textile art)

Huastec Sculpture (Mesoamerican coastal culture)

Human Osteology (Study of human skeletal remains)

Hyangga (Korean shamanic poetry)

Hydraulic Survey (Studying ancient water management)

Hydria (Greek ceramic water jar with three handles)

Hydria (Water-carrying vessel)

Hyksos Administration (Methods of governance)

Hyksos Art (Blending of Egyptian and foreign styles)

Hyksos Artifacts (Objects from their period)

Hyksos Chronology (Dating their rule)

Hyksos Expansion (Territorial control)

Hyksos Fortifications (Defensive structures in Egypt)

Hyksos Horse Burials (Early chariot culture in Egypt)

Hyksos Influence (Cultural impact on Egypt)

Hyksos Interactions (Relations with other cultures)

Hyksos Innovations (New technologies introduced)

Hyksos Language (Semitic language spoken by rulers)

Hyksos Legacy (Impact on later Egyptian history)

Hyksos Material Culture (Everyday objects)

Hyksos Military (Chariot warfare)

Hyksos Origins (Debate about their homeland)

Hyksos Pottery (Distinctive ceramic styles)

Hyksos Power (Strength and duration of their rule)

Hyksos Religion (Adaptation of Egyptian deities)

Hyksos Royal Names (Pharaohs of the Fifteenth Dynasty)

Hyksos Rule (Period of foreign rule in ancient Egypt)

Hyksos Scarabs (Second Intermediate Period Egypt)

Hyksos Settlements (Urban centers during their rule)

Hyksos Technology (Chariots and composite bows)

Hyksos Tombs (Burial practices)

Hyksos Trade (Connections with the Near East)

Hypocaust (Roman underfloor heating system)

Hypogeum (Underground tomb or sanctuary)

Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni (Maltese underground sanctuary)

Ialysos (Rhodian ancient city)

Iberian Cave Art (Levantine prehistoric paintings)

Iberian Oppidum (Iron Age hillforts)

Iberian Script (Pre-Roman writing system)

Iberian Warrior Stelae (Bronze Age battle depictions)

Iberians (Pre-Roman inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula)

Ice Age (Pleistocene Epoch, glacial periods)

Ice Age Art (Paleolithic cave paintings and carvings)

Ice Age Megafauna Art (European cave depictions)

Icon (Religious image, especially in Byzantine art)

Iconoclasm (Rejection of religious images)

Iconography (The study of symbols and themes in visual arts)

Idol (Anthropomorphic cult image)

Idealization (Artistic representation aiming for perfection)

Ideology (System of ideas and beliefs)

Ife Bronze Heads (Nigerian royal portraits)

Igbo Ukwu (Nigerian early metalworking center)

Igbo-Ukwu Bronzes (Early West African sophisticated metalwork)

Ikhshidid Coinage (Turkic Egyptian dynasty)

Ikria (Greek theater stage machinery)

Illahun Papyri (Egyptian Middle Kingdom texts)

Illumination (Decorating manuscripts with gold/color)

Illyrian Helmet (Balkan armor type)

Illyrians (Pre-Roman Balkan tribes, resisted Roman rule)

Ilkhanid Ceramics (Persian-Mongol pottery)

Imbrex (Roman roof tile type)

Imitation (Copying or reproducing an artwork)

Impasto (Thick application of paint)

Imperial Cult (Ruler worship practice)

Impression (Single print from a printing surface)

In Situ (Artifacts in original position)

In Situ (In its original place or position)

Inca Architecture (Massive stone structures)

Inca Art (Distinctive Andean artistic style)

Inca Ceramics (Functional and ceremonial pottery)

Inca Empire (Andean civilization, largest pre-Columbian empire)

Inca Metallurgy (Sophisticated metalworking)

Inca Roads (Extensive Andean transportation network)

Inca Religion (Polytheistic with sun god Inti)

Inca Society (Hierarchical social structure)

Inca Technology (Engineering and agricultural innovations)

Inca Textile (Highly valued Andean woven fabric)

Inca Tocapu (Andean geometric symbols)

Inca Writing (Quipu knotted string records)

Incense Altar (Ritual offering platform)

Incised Decoration (Designs cut into a surface)

Indigenous Archaeology (Archaeology with indigenous perspectives)

Inductive Reasoning (Generalizing from specific observations)

Indus Script (Harappan undeciphered writing)

Indus Valley Civilization (Bronze Age urban culture in South Asia)

Inference (Drawing conclusions from evidence)

Infrared Reflectography (Imaging subsurface drawings)

Inhumation (Body burial practice)

Inkwell (Ancient writing implement)

Inlay (Inserting materials into a surface)

Inscription (Text carved or written on a surface)

Installation Art (Three-dimensional art in a space)

Instrument (Tool or device, often musical)

Insula (Multistory apartment building in Roman cities)

Insular Art (Hiberno-Saxon art style)

Intaglio (Gemstone engraving technique)

Intaglio (Printmaking where ink is below surface)

Intaglio Printing (Printing from incised designs)

Intarsia (Wood inlay technique)

Interactive Exhibit (Display allowing visitor engagement)

Interdisciplinary (Involving multiple academic disciplines)

Interlace (Decorative knotwork pattern)

Internship (Temporary work for museum experience)

Interpretation (Explaining the significance of objects/sites)

Intrados (Arch’s inner curve)

Inventory (Detailed list of museum holdings)

Inventory Number (Unique identifier for museum objects)

Invasive Analysis (Methods that alter or damage artifacts)

Ionia (Ancient Greek region on the western coast of Anatolia)

Ionic Order (Graceful Greek architectural column style with volutes)

Ionian Revolt (Greek uprising against Persia)

Ipiutak Masks (Alaskan proto-Inuit art)

Iron Age (Period marked by iron tools and empires)

Iron Age Torcs (European neck rings)

Iron Smelting (Process of extracting iron from ore)

Irrigation (Artificial watering of land)

Ishtar Gate (Babylon’s glazed brick entrance)

Ishtar Vase (Sumerian ritual vessel)

Ishango Bone (Congolese mathematical artifact)

Israelite Kingdoms (Biblical-era states of Israel and Judah)

Isthmus (Narrow land bridge connecting two larger areas)

Isotopic Analysis (Studying stable isotopes for diet/origin)

Italic Bullae (Etruscan-Latin clay seals)

Italic Peoples (Indo-European tribes of ancient Italy)

Italic Pottery (Ceramics of ancient Italy)

Itazuke (Japanese Yayoi rice-cultivation site)

Ivory Carving (Art of shaping elephant tusks)

Ithyphallic (Depiction with an erect penis)

Jade Burial Suits (Han dynasty elite funerary practice)

Jade Cong (Chinese Liangzhu culture ritual object)

Jade Cong (Liangzhu culture ritual objects)

Jamb (Vertical side post of a doorway or window)

Japonisme (European fascination with Japanese art)

Jar Burial (Infant interment practice)

Jar Burials (Global infant interment practice)

Jars (Pottery vessels for storage or burial)

Jasper (Opaque variety of silica, used for tools/ornaments)

Jasperware (Unglazed stoneware with colored relief)

Jati (Hindu caste or social group)

Jataka Tales (Buddhist stories of previous lives)

Java Man (Early Homo erectus fossils from Indonesia)

Javanese Kala (Indonesian temple reliefs)

Javanese Water Temple (Indonesian irrigation system)

Javelin Head (Ancient projectile weapon component)

Jebel Barkal (Nubian temple complex)

Jebel Irhoud (Moroccan early Homo sapiens site)

Jemdet Nasr Tablets (Proto-cuneiform records)

Jenne-Jeno (Ancient West African urban center)

Jericho Skull (Neolithic plastered human skull)

Jesuit Reductions (South American missionary settlements)

Jet Figurine (British Iron Age carved amulet)

Jewish Revolt Coinage (First century CE rebel currency)

Jewelry Hoard (Deliberate precious metal deposit)

Jiao (Chinese ritual bronze vessel)

Jietu (Chinese stepped terrace architecture)

Jigonhsasee (Mother of Nations in Iroquois tradition)

Jin Ancestral Temples (Chinese Shang architecture)

Jin Dynasty (Chinese dynasty periods)

Jin State Bronzes (Chinese Spring & Autumn period)

Jingu (Legendary empress of Japan)

Jinn (Supernatural creatures in Islamic tradition)

Jinsha Sun Disc (Chinese gold artifact)

Jiroft Chlorite (Iranian carved vessels)

Jiroft Civilization (Iranian “Aratta” candidate)

Jiroft Inscriptions (Undeciphered proto-Elamite)

Jiva (Living entity in Jainism)

Jizo (Bodhisattva in East Asian Buddhism)

Jomon Culture (Japanese Neolithic culture)

Jomon Dogū (Japanese ritual figurines)

Jomon Figurine (Japanese Neolithic clay effigy)

Jomon Flame Pots (Japanese Neolithic ceramics)

Jomon Flint Tools (Japanese prehistoric stone implements)

Jomon Lacquer (Japanese prehistoric coating technique)

Jomon Lacquer (World’s earliest lacquerware)

Jomon Period (Japanese Neolithic, known for cord-marked pottery)

Jomon Pottery (Japanese Neolithic ceramic tradition)

Jomon Shell Mounds (Japanese prehistoric refuse heaps)

Jomon Textiles (Japanese prehistoric woven fabrics)

Jonestown (Site of mass suicide in Guyana)

Jorvik (Viking-age York, England)

Jotunheim (Home of giants in Norse mythology)

Joukowsky Transformation (Mathematical tool in fluid dynamics)

Joya de Cerén (“Pompeii of the Americas,” preserved village)

Joya de Cerén (Pompeii of the Americas)

Juba II (King of Numidia and Mauretania, scholar)

Jubilee Bowl (Egyptian ceremonial vessel)

Juchid Ulus (Western part of the Mongol Empire)

Judaea Capta Coin (Roman victory commemorative)

Judean Desert Caves (Bar Kokhba revolt artifacts)

Judean Pillar Figurines (Iron Age fertility objects)

Judean Weights (First Temple period measures)

Juggling (Ancient form of entertainment)

Jugate (Roman coin portrait style)

Julia Augusta Concordia (Temple in Roman Forum, dedicated to harmony)

Julian Alps (Mountain range in Europe)

Julian Calendar (Solar calendar introduced by Julius Caesar)

Julio-Claudian (First Roman imperial dynasty)

Julius Caesar (Roman general and statesman)

Jump-Up (Caribbean musical genre)

Jundi Shapur (Ancient Persian intellectual center)

Juniper (Evergreen coniferous tree)

Junta (Military or political group ruling after a coup)

Jupiter (Chief Roman deity)

Jurassic Period (Middle period of the Mesozoic Era)

Jurchen Jin Dynasty (Manchurian empire, conquered northern China)

Jurchen Script (Medieval Manchurian writing system)

Jurisprudence (Philosophy of law)

Jury (Panel of citizens deciding a legal case)

Justice (Fairness and moral rightness)

Justification (Showing something to be right or reasonable)

Justinianic Plague (6th century pandemic evidence)

Jute (Vegetable fiber used for textiles)

Jute Bag (Sack made from jute fabric)

Jute Carpet (Floor covering made from jute fibers)

Jute Cultivation (Farming of jute plants)

Jute Industry (Economic sector related to jute)

Jute Mill (Factory for processing jute)

Jute Products (Various items made from jute)

Jute Rope (Strong cord made from jute)

Jute Trade (Commerce involving jute products)

Jute Twine (Thin string made from jute)

Jutland Style (Scandinavian Iron Age art)

Juvenile (Young or immature)

Juxtaposition (Placing things side by side for comparison)

Joseon Dynasty (Korea’s Neo-Confucian era, Hangul script)

Kakatiya Dynasty (South Indian medieval kingdom)

Kalasasaya (Bolivian monumental structure at Tiwanaku)

Kalibangan (Indus Valley Civilization site in India)

Kaliningrad Amber (Baltic Sea fossilized resin)

Kaminaljuyu (Major Maya city in Guatemala)

Kamares Ware (Minoan polychrome pottery)

Kanat (Underground water channel system)

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Indian Hindu temple)

Kanem-Bornu Empire (African state around Lake Chad)

Kantharos (Greek handled drinking vessel)

Karakorum (Capital of the Mongol Empire)

Karatsu Ware (Japanese pottery tradition)

Karum (Assyrian trading colony in Anatolia)

Karnak Cachette (Egyptian statue deposit)

Karnak Pylons (Egyptian temple gateways)

Karnak Temple Complex (Vast Egyptian temple precinct, Luxor)

Kayenta Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan culture)

Kassite Kudurru (Mesopotamian boundary stones)

Keelavur Inscription (Pallava dynasty Tamil text)

Keftiu (Egyptian term for Minoan civilization)

Kebara Cave (Levantine Neanderthal site)

Keltenwald (Celtic forest in ancient Germany)

Kennewick Man (Early Paleoamerican skeletal remains)

Keos (Cycladic island with Bronze Age settlements)

Kerma Archers (Nubian military burials)

Kerma Ceramics (Nubian black-topped ware)

Kerma Necropolis (Sudanese royal burials)

Kerma Sacrificial Ram (Nubian animal mummies)

Khabur Ware (Mesopotamian painted pottery)

Khachkar (Armenian carved memorial stone)

Khafajeh (Ancient Mesopotamian city)

Khalkolithic (Copper Age transitional period)

Khazar Khaganate (Turkic empire in Eastern Europe)

Khersonesos (Ancient Greek colony in Crimea)

Khitan Script (Writing system of the Liao dynasty)

Khmer Empire (Southeast Asian power, built Angkor Wat)

Khok Phanom Di (Vietnamese Neolithic site)

Khoisan Languages (African click language family)

Khyber Pass (Mountain pass connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan)

Kibbutz (Israeli collective community)

Kidonim (Phoenician votive offerings)

Kikai Caldera (Volcanic eruption linked to climate change)

Kiln (Oven for firing pottery or ceramics)

Kinetoscopes (Early motion picture exhibition devices)

King List (Ancient Mesopotamian chronological records)

Kinship (Social relationships based on family ties)

Kistvaen (British Bronze Age cist grave)

Kithara (Ancient Greek stringed musical instrument)

Kition Astarte (Phoenician ivory figurines)

Kition Naval Base (Phoenician Cyprus)

Kiva (Southwestern Native American ceremonial chamber)

Kleroi (Allotments of land in ancient Greece)

Kleroterion (Ancient Athenian allotment machine for juries)

Kleroterion (Athenian lottery selection device)

Klepsydra (Ancient water clock)

Knitting (Interlocking loops of yarn or thread)

Knossos (Largest Minoan palace complex on Crete)

Knossos (Minoan palatial center)

Kofun Haniwa (Japanese tomb figurines)

Kofun Mirrors (Japanese bronze imports)

Kofun Period (Japanese burial mound era)

Kofun Period Haniwa (Japanese clay funerary and ritual figurines)

Koguryo Armor (Korean lamellar plates)

Koguryo Tombs (Korean mural paintings)

Koiné Greek (Hellenistic lingua franca)

Koinobion (Early Christian monastic community)

Koinon (Greek federation of city-states)

Koinon Coinage (Federal Greek currency)

Kommos (Minoan harbor town in Crete)

Konark Sun Temple (Indian Surya temple)

Kontextualismus (Archaeological theory emphasizing context)

Kopis (Ancient Greek single-edged sword)

Kore (Archaic Greek female statue)

Kore (Archaic Greek standing female statue)

Korai (Plural of Kore, Archaic Greek statues)

Korcula (Croatian island with ancient history)

Kothon (Circular Carthaginian harbor)

Kothon Harbor (Circular naval facility)

Kourion (Ancient city-kingdom on Cyprus)

Kouros (Archaic Greek male statue)

Kouros (Archaic Greek standing male statue)

Kouros of Reggio (Archaic Greek bronze male nude statues)

Krannon (Ancient Thessalian city)

Krater (Large Greek vessel for mixing wine and water)

Krepis (Greek temple stepped platform)

Kritios Boy (Early Classical Greek marble sculpture)

Krypteia (Spartan secret police institution)

Kuk Swamp (Early agricultural site in Papua New Guinea)

Kura-Araxes (South Caucasus pottery)

Kura-Araxes Metallurgy (Early Caucasian bronze)

Kushan Devata (Central Asian deity carvings)

Kushan Empire (Central Asian Buddhists, Silk Road mediators)

Kushan Silk Road (Buddhist trade network)

Kylix (Greek drinking cup with a wide, shallow bowl)

Kylix (Greek stemmed drinking cup)

Kylix Foot (Ceramic vessel base type)

Kylix Frieze (Narrative scene band decoration)

Kylix Painter (Greek vase artist signature)

Kylix Tondo (Cup interior decoration space)

Kylix Workshop (Ancient pottery production center)

Label (Text providing information about an exhibit)

Laconian pottery (Spartan pottery, known for its simple decoration)

Laconian Ware (Spartan black-figure pottery)

Laconicum (Dry sweating room in Roman baths)

Lacquer (Glossy varnish, often Asian origin)

Laocoön Group (Hellenistic marble sculpture)

Lapita Culture (Pacific ancestors of Polynesians, seafaring people)

Lapita Pottery (Pacific navigation culture)

Lapis Lazuli (Ancient Afghan blue stone trade)

La Tène (Iron Age Celtic art style)

La Venta Olmec Heads (Colossal basalt head sculptures, Mexico)

Landscape Archaeology (Study of human interaction with environment)

Landscape History (Long-term changes in the environment)

Lamassu (Assyrian winged bull guardian)

Laminate (Protective transparent layer)

Lekane (Greek shallow mixing bowl)

Lekythos (Greek ceramic oil flask, often funerary)

Lekythos (Greek oil funerary vessel)

Lemures (Malevolent spirits of the dead in Roman religion)

Lender (Individual/institution loaning an object)

Lender (Person/institution loaning an object)

Lepenski Vir (Danubian Mesolithic sculptures)

Lepenski Vir Sculptures (Mesolithic fish-human carvings from Serbia)

Leponti Inscriptions (Alpine Celtic language)

Leponti Rock Art (Swiss Alps engravings)

Lewis Chessmen (Medieval ivory chess pieces from Scotland)

Liangzhu City (Chinese jade culture capital)

Liangzhu Culture (Neolithic China, notable jade artifacts)

Libation Pit (Ritual liquid offering feature)

Library (Collection of books and other resources)

Licchavi (Ancient kingdom in the Indian subcontinent)

Lictor (Attendant carrying fasces for Roman magistrates)

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) (Remote sensing using lasers)

Ligurian Culture (Pre-Roman inhabitants of Liguria)

Limes (Roman frontier defense system)

Limestone (Sedimentary rock used in artifacts)

Linear A (Undeciphered Minoan writing system)

Linear B (Deciphered Mycenaean writing system, early Greek)

Linear B (Mycenaean Greek syllabic script)

Lingam (Symbol of the Hindu god Shiva)

Lintol (Horizontal support above a door or window)

Lion Gate (Entrance to Mycenae)

Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel (Oldest known zoomorphic figurine)

Lipari (Volcanic island with ancient settlements)

Lisht (Royal burial site of Middle Kingdom Egypt)

Lithic Analysis (Stone tool examination)

Lithic Analysis (Study of stone tools)

Lithography (Printmaking using a flat stone/metal)

Lituus (Etruscan ritual staff)

Lituus (Curved staff, symbol of Roman augurs)

Livy (Famous Roman historian, author of Ab Urbe Condita)

Loan (Temporary transfer of an object)

Loan Agreement (Contract for borrowed artifacts)

Loan Box (Portable collection for educational outreach)

Loan Form (Document detailing borrowed items)

Locri Epizephyrii (Important ancient Greek city in Calabria, Italy)

Loculi (Niches in Roman catacombs or tombs for burials)

Logboat (Canoe made from a hollowed-out log)

Logistics (Planning and execution of artifact movement)

Loma Alta (Ecuadorian Valdivia figurines)

Loma del Zapote (Olmec colossal head site)

Loma San Gabriel (Mexican shaft tomb culture)

Long Barrow (Neolithic burial mound)

Longhouse (Communal dwelling, e.g., Iroquois)

Longshan Black Pottery (Chinese eggshell ware)

Longshan Jade (Chinese Neolithic craftsmanship)

Loom (Device for weaving textiles)

Loom Weight (Textile production artifact)

Looting (Antiquities) (Illegal excavation and removal of artifacts)

Looting (Illegal removal of artifacts)

Lost-Wax Technique (Casting using a wax mold)

Loulan Beauty (Tarim Basin mummy)

Loulan Textiles (Silk Road fabrics)

Loutrophoros (Greek wedding/funeral vase)

Louvre (Famous museum in Paris)

Luba Art (Distinctive sculptural tradition)

Luba Divination (African ritual objects)

Luba History (Origins and development)

Luba Kingdom (Central African state)

Luba Language (Bantu language)

Luba Memory Board (Congolese mnemonic device)

Luba People (Ethnic group in the DRC)

Luba Religion (Beliefs and practices)

Luba Society (Social and political organization)

Luba Stool (Central African royal regalia)

Lucanians (Ancient Italic people in Lucania)

Lupercalia (Ancient Roman pastoral festival)

Lupa Capitolina (Bronze wolf statue, Rome’s founding myth)

Luristan Bronzes (Iranian animal-form artifacts)

Lustral Basin (Minoan purification space)

Lungshanoid (Southeast Asian Neolithic)

Lute (Ancient stringed instrument)

Lycian Tombs (Rock-cut burials in Anatolia)

Lydian Electrum (Anatolian first coins)

Lydian Lion Coins (Early bimetallic currency)

Lydian Royal Road (Persian precursor highway)

Lyre Player Figurine (Cycladic musician depiction)

Machu Picchu Artifacts (Inca ceremonial and daily life objects)

Macramé (Textile art using knots)

Macedonian Empire (Short-lived empire of Alexander the Great)

Magadha Kingdom (Early Indian empire, precursor to Mauryas)

Magistrate (Roman) (Elected official in Roman Republic and Empire)

Magna Graecia (Coastal areas of Southern Italy colonized by Greeks)

Magnetometry (Measuring magnetic anomalies in soil)

Majolica (Tin-glazed earthenware)

Manuscript (Handwritten document)

Mari Cylinder Seals (Syrian administrative tools)

Mari Frescoes (Syrian palace murals)

Mari Goddess (Syrian bronze figurine)

Mari Investiture (Mesopotamian wall painting)

Mari Royal Archives (Amorite cuneiform library)

Maritime Archaeology (Study of underwater archaeological sites)

Marquetry (Inlaid wood veneer patterns)

Mask of Agamemnon (Mycenaean gold funerary mask)

Mastaba (Egyptian rectangular tomb)

Material Culture (Physical objects created by a society)

Material Culture (Physical objects of a society)

Matting (Framing paper around an artwork)

Mawangdui Silk Texts (Han dynasty manuscripts)

Maya Civilization (Mesoamerican city-states, advanced calendar system)

Medium (Materials used to create an artwork)

Megaron (Great hall in Mycenaean palaces)

Megaron (Greek rectangular hall structure)

Memorabilia (Objects associated with a specific event)

Mensa Ponderaria (Official table for weights and measures in Roman cities)

Meroe Pyramids (Sudanese royal tombs)

Meroe Sun Temple (Nubian solar cult)

Meroitic Iron (African bloomery technology)

Meroitic Script (Nubian writing system)

Metal Casting (Pouring molten metal into a mold)

Metal Detecting (Using devices to locate buried metal)

Metope (Rectangular architectural element between triglyphs)

Metallurgy (Science and technology of metals)

Metaphor (Figurative language)

Method (Systematic procedure)

Microclimate (Controlled environment within a display)

Micromorphology (Microscopic study of soil and sediments)

Midden (Accumulation of domestic waste)

Migration (Movement of people)

Millennia (Plural of millennium, thousand-year periods)

Mimbres Animal (US Southwest zoomorphic art)

Mimbres Astronomy (Puebloan celestial imagery)

Mimbres Bowls (New Mexican burial goods)

Mimbres Cremation (US Southwest mortuary practice)

Mimbres Pottery (Southwest US geometric designs)

Mineralogy (Study of minerals and their properties)

Minoan Civilization (Bronze Age Crete, Knossos palace complex)

Minoan Double Axe (Labrys ritual implement)

Minoan Flounced Skirt (Female costume element)

Minoan Horns of Consecration (Cultic bull symbolism)

Minoan Marine Style (Sea-life pottery decoration)

Minoan Peak Sanctuary (Cretan mountain shrine)

Minoan Pillar Crypt (Underground ritual space)

Minoan Rhyton (Ceremonial pouring vessel)

Minoan Snake Goddess (Cretan cult figurine)

Minoan Snake Goddess (Faience figurine from Bronze Age Crete)

Minyan Ware (Middle Helladic pottery)

Mississippian Culture (North American mound-builders, Cahokia example)

Mithraeum (Roman mystery cult sanctuary)

Mixed Media (Artwork using various materials)

Mixtec Codex (pre-Columbian pictorial histories)

Mixtec Genealogy (deer skin codices)

Mixtec Goldwork (Mexican lost-wax casting)

Mixtec Stonework (Mexican relief carvings)

Mixtec Turquoise (Mexican mosaic masks)

Mobile App (Museum guide on a personal device)

Moche Portrait Vessels (Peruvian ceramic head effigy pots)

Model (Representation of an object or site)

Modeling (Shaping a pliable material)

Mold (Hollow form used for casting)

Molecular Archaeology (Analysis of biomolecules in artifacts)

Monograph (Detailed scholarly study)

Monograph (Detailed study of a single subject)

Mordant (Substance that fixes dyes to fabric)

Mortarium (Roman grinding/mixing bowl)

Mosaic (Art form using small tiles to create images)

Mosaic (Tessellated decorative surface)

Mosaic Tesserae (Small tiles used in mosaic)

Motif (Recurring design or pattern)

Mount (Structure supporting an exhibited object)

Mount (Support structure for display)

Mughal Empire (Islamic India, blended Persian and Indian arts)

Multimedia (Exhibits using various media forms)

Multidisciplinary Approach (Integrating various fields of study)

Multivariate Statistics (Analyzing complex datasets)

Mural (Large painting applied to a wall)

Murex Dye (Phoenician purple pigment)

Museum (Institution preserving and exhibiting objects)

Mycenae (Major Bronze Age city in mainland Greece)

Mycenaean Civilization (Late Bronze Age culture on mainland Greece)

Mycenaean Fresco (Palatial wall painting tradition)

Mycenaean Greece (Late Bronze Age Greeks, Trojan War fame)

Mycenaean Gold Mask (Shaft grave funerary artifact)

Mycenaean Krater (Mixing vessel for symposium)

Mycenaean Tholos Tomb (Beehive-shaped grave)

Mummy (Preserved human remains)

Mummy Portrait (Fayum funerary painting)

Nacirema (Anthropological thought experiment)

Nadir (Lowest point)

Naos (Inner sanctuary of a Greek temple)

Napoleonic Wars (Early 19th-century European conflicts)

Narrative (Story or account of events)

Narthex (Entrance hall of a church)

National Historic Site (Designated protected area)

Nationalism (Patriotic feeling, often with political aims)

Native American Pottery (Indigenous ceramic traditions)

Natufian Culture (Levantine hunter-gatherer settlements)

Natural History Museum (Institution displaying the natural world)

Natural Selection (Evolutionary process)

Naturalism (Artistic style depicting things realistically)

Navigation (Science of directing movement)

Nave (Central part of a church)

Neanderthal (Extinct human species)

Neanderthal Burial (Early hominin funerary practices)

Neanderthal Cave Art (Early symbolic expression)

Neanderthal Tools (Mousterian lithic technology)

Near East (Historical and geographical region)

Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian king, Hanging Gardens)

Necklace (Ornament worn around the neck)

Necropolis (“City of the dead,” large ancient cemetery)

Necropolis of Thebes (Valley of the Kings/Queens)

Needlework (Art of sewing and embroidery)

Negative Painting (Dyeing technique)

Negative Space (Empty areas in a work of art)

Neo-Assyrian Empire (Iron Age Mesopotamian power)

Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldean dynasty)

Neoclassical Art (18th/19th-century revival)

Neo-Confucianism (Chinese philosophical movement)

Neolithic (“New Stone Age,” agriculture and settled life)

Neolithic Figurines (Early symbolic representations)

Neolithic Flint Mines (Early resource extraction)

Neolithic Pottery (Early ceramic technology)

Neolithic Revolution (Agricultural origins and impact)

Neolithic Rituals (Early symbolic practices)

Neo-Platonism (Hellenistic philosophical school)

Nervous System (Biological network of neurons)

Nerva-Antonine Dynasty (Period of Roman imperial stability)

Nestorian Stele (Tang Dynasty Christian monument)

Net Sinkers (Weighted objects for fishing nets)

Network Analysis (Studying relationships and connections)

Neutrality (State of not supporting either side)

New Deal (FDR’s economic programs)

New France (French colonies in North America)

New Guinea (Large island in the Pacific)

New Kingdom Egypt (Egyptian imperial expansion)

New Testament (Christian scripture)

New World (The Americas)

New World Order (Hypothetical global power shift)

New York City (Major North American urban center)

Newgrange (Irish Neolithic passage tomb)

Niagara Falls (Major waterfall on US-Canada border)

Niche (Recessed space in a wall)

Niche Burial (Interment in a wall recess)

Nile River (Crucial to ancient Egyptian civilization)

Nilometer (Ancient Egyptian flood measurement device)

Nimbus (Halo or aura in art)

Nineveh (Ancient Assyrian capital city)

Niello (Black metallic inlay)

Nirvana (State of enlightenment in Buddhism)

Nirvana Sutra (Buddhist text)

Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park (Indigenous cultural site)

Nisga’a Nation (Indigenous people of British Columbia)

Nisga’a Treaty (Modern Indigenous land claim)

Nocturne (Night scene in art or music)

Nodule (Small, rounded mass)

Nok Culture (Early Nigerian terracotta figurines)

Nomad (Person who moves from place to place)

Nomenclature (System of naming things)

Non-destructive Analysis (Studying artifacts without damage)

Nonconformity (Failure to conform)

Non-renewable Resource (Finite natural resource)

Noin-Ula Burial Mounds (Scythian-Xiongnu tombs)

Nookta Sound Incident (Early European contact)

Normandy Invasion (D-Day, WWII Allied landings)

Norse Longhouse (Viking Age dwelling)

Norse Mythology (Scandinavian pre-Christian beliefs)

Norse Seafaring (Viking maritime exploration)

North America Act (Canadian constitutional law)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Military alliance)

Northwest Coast Art (Indigenous art tradition)

Northwest Passage (Sea route through the Arctic)

Northwest Territories (Canadian territory)

Nose Ring (Ornament worn in the nose)

Notation (System of symbols)

Nouvelle-France (French colonial territory in North America)

Novgorod (Important medieval Russian city)

Nubia (Ancient region south of Egypt)

Nucleus (Core or central part)

Null Hypothesis (Statement assumed to be false)

Number System (Method of representing quantities)

Numismatic Collection (Collection of coins and currency)

Numismatics (Study of coins and currency)

Nunavut (Canadian territory, Inuit homeland)

Nuzi Map (Ancient Mesopotamian cadastral survey)

Nuzi Tablets (Ancient Mesopotamian legal texts)

Oasis (Fertile spot in a desert)

Oath (Solemn promise)

Object (Tangible item in a collection)

Object Label (Concise text identifying an artifact)

Obelisk (Tall, four-sided tapering monument)

Obsidian (Volcanic glass used for tools)

Obsidian Hydration Dating (Age determination method)

Obverse (Front or “heads” side of a coin)

Ochre (Natural earth pigment)

Ochre Painting (Art using earth pigments)

Oculus (Circular opening at the apex of a dome)

Odeion (Small Greek/Roman theater)

Odeum (Roman musical performance space)

Offering (Item presented in a religious context)

Oikos (Greek household economic unit)

Oikos (Household unit in ancient Greece)

Oil Lamp (Ancient source of light)

Oil Paint (Slow-drying paint with oil binder)

Oinochoe (Greek wine pouring jug)

Oistins (Barbados fishing town, historic significance)

Oldowan Industry (Earliest known stone tool tradition)

Oligocene Epoch (Geological time period)

Olpe (Greek wine pitcher form)

Olmec Bloodletting (Early ritual implements)

Olmec Cave Paintings (Juxtlahuaca murals)

Olmec Celts (Ceremonial jade axes)

Olmec Civilization (“Mother Culture,” colossal stone heads)

Olmec Colossal Heads (Large stone head sculptures, Mesoamerica)

Olmec Colossal Heads (Mesoamerican basalt sculptures)

Olmec Colossal Heads (Mesoamerican sculpture)

Olmec Jadeite (Mesoamerican greenstone carvings)

Olmec Rubber (Early ballgame evidence)

Olmec Were-Jaguar (Mesoamerican hybrid deity)

Olmecs (Early Mesoamerican civilization)

Omphalos (Delphic navel stone artifact)

Open-Air Museum (Museum with outdoor exhibits)

Opisthodomos (Rear room of a Greek temple, often for storage)

Opus Caementicium (Roman concrete technique)

Opus Incertum (Irregular stone facing style)

Opus Reticulatum (Diamond-pattern masonry)

Opus Sectile (Cut stone decorative work)

Opus Signinum (Waterproof mortar surface)

Oracle (Person or shrine believed to communicate divine will)

Oral History (Historical information from spoken accounts)

Oral History (Recorded interviews about past events)

Orans Pose (Early Christian prayer stance)

Oratory (Small chapel or place of prayer)

Orb (Spherical object, often with symbolic meaning)

Orchard (Cultivated area for fruit trees)

Orchestra (Circular space in front of the Greek stage)

Order (Architectural style, e.g., Doric, Ionic, Corinthian)

Ordinance (Authoritative rule or law)

Ore (Naturally occurring solid material yielding metal)

Organic Material (Remains of plants and animals)

Organ (Musical instrument with pipes)

Original (First or earliest form of something)

Ornament (Decorative element)

Orphism (Ancient mystery religion)

Orthostat (Upright slab forming part of a wall)

Oscan Language (Italic pre-Roman dialect)

Oseberg Animals (Norse wood carvings)

Oseberg Bucket (Nordic bronze vessel)

Oseberg Cart (Viking ceremonial vehicle)

Oseberg Ship (Well-preserved Viking burial ship)

Oseberg Ship (Viking burial vessel)

Oseberg Tapestry (Norse textile narrative)

Ossuary (Container for cremated remains)

Ostia Antica (Ancient port city of Rome at Tiber mouth)

Ostraca (Plural of Athenian ostracism shards)

Ostrakon (Athenian voting pottery shard)

Ostracism (Ancient Athenian practice of temporary exile)

Ottoman Empire (Islamic caliphate, successor to Byzantine Empire)

Outreach (Activities extending beyond the museum)

Outrigger Canoe (Polynesian sailing vessel)

Oval (Egg-shaped form)

Oven (Enclosed chamber for baking or firing)

Overglaze (Decoration applied after initial firing)

Overlay (Layer placed over something else)

Overpass (Bridge carrying a road or railway)

Ovolo Molding (Architectural convex profile)

Ovoid (Egg-shaped solid)

Owl (Nocturnal bird of prey, often symbolic)

Ox (Bovine animal, often used for draft power)

Oxhide Ingot (Bronze Age copper trade form)

Oxidation (Chemical process of combining with oxygen)

Oxus Armlet (Persian animal-form jewelry)

Oxus Chariot (Central Asian model)

Oxus Dagger (Bactrian ceremonial weapon)

Oxus Figurine (Bactrian goddess images)

Oxus Rhython (Persian drinking vessel)

Oxus Temple (Bactrian fire altar)

Oxus Treasure (Achaemenid gold artifacts)

Oxus Treasure (Large collection of Achaemenid gold)

Oxygen (Gaseous element essential for life)

Oyster (Bivalve mollusk, sometimes yielding pearls)

Oyo Empire (West African Yoruba state, cavalry strength)

Ozone (Triatomic oxygen, atmospheric layer)

Paestum (Significant ancient Greek city in Campania, Italy)

Palaestra (Greek wrestling training ground)

Palaestra Mosaic (Athletic scene pavement)

Paleoclimate (Study of past climates)

Paleoethnobotany (Study of ancient plant use by humans)

Paleography (Study of ancient handwriting)

Paleolithic (“Old Stone Age,” hunter-gatherer societies, cave art)

Paleopathology (Study of ancient diseases)

Palatine Hill (One of Rome’s Seven Hills, early settlement)

Palenque (Major Maya city in Mexico)

Paleoethnobotany (Study of ancient plant use by humans)

Paleography (Study of ancient writing systems)

Paleolithic (Early Stone Age)

Paleopathology (Study of ancient diseases and injuries)

Palynology (Study of pollen and spores)

Palynology (Study of pollen and spores)

Panathenaic Amphora (Prize vessel form)

Panathenaic Games (Religious and athletic festival in ancient Athens)

Papyrus Roll (Ancient book technology)

Parian Marble (Aegean sculptural material)

Parthian Empire (Persian dynasty, Rome’s eastern major rival)

Parthian Shot (Mounted archery tactic)

Parthenon (Iconic temple to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis)

Parthenon Frieze (Sculptural decoration of the Athenian Parthenon)

Pastel (Dry pigment stick for drawing)

Paterfamilias (Male head of a Roman household)

Patina (Surface alteration from age and use)

Patrician (Original aristocratic families of ancient Rome)

Patrician House (Roman elite dwelling)

Pax Romana (Long period of Roman peace and prosperity)

Pazyryk Cannabis (earliest ritual use evidence)

Pazyryk Carpet (world’s oldest pile rug)

Pazyryk Carpets (Oldest surviving pile-woven carpets)

Pazyryk Chariot (Altai Mountains burial)

Pazyryk Felt (Siberian textile preservation)

Pazyryk Horses (Scythian sacrificed steeds)

Pazyryk Saddle (earliest framed saddle)

Pazyryk Tattoos (Siberian Ice Maiden)

Pedestal (Support base for a sculpture/object)

Pedestal (Support base for a sculpture/object)

Pediment (Triangular gable at the end of a temple roof)

Pediment Sculpture (Temple triangular decoration)

Pedology (Study of soils)

Peloponnese (Large peninsula forming the southern part of Greece)

Peplos Kore (Archaic draped female statue)

Periodical (Regularly published journal/magazine)

Period Room (Reconstructed historical interior)

Peripteral Temple (Surrounding colonnade design)

Peristyle (Colonnaded courtyard in a Roman house or building)

Peristyle (Row of columns surrounding a building or courtyard)

Petrography (Microscopic study of rocks and ceramics)

Phalera (Roman military decoration disk)

Pharos of Alexandria (Remains of ancient lighthouse, Egypt)

Phiale (Shallow libation bowl in ancient Greece)

Phosphate Analysis (Identifying areas of human/animal activity)

Photography (Art/process of capturing images)

Photography (Capturing images for documentation)

Photogrammetry (Creating 3D models from photographs)

Photogravure (Photographic etching process)

Phoenician Civilization (Mediterranean traders, alphabet inventors)

Pigment (Finely ground colorant)

Pinakes of Locri (Ancient Greek clay votive plaques)

Pithos (Large Greek storage container)

Pithos (Large storage jar, often ceramic)

Plaster Casting (Creating forms using plaster)

Plebeian (Common citizens of ancient Rome)

Plein Air (Painting outdoors)

Pnyx (Athenian democratic assembly area)

Polis (Classical Greek city-state concept)

Polis (Greek city-state)

Pompeii (Ancient Roman city destroyed by Vesuvius eruption)

Pompeii Frescoes (Roman wall paintings preserved by Vesuvius)

Pont du Gard (Impressive Roman aqueduct in southern France)

Post-Processual Archaeology (Interpretive, subjective approach)

Potassium-Argon Dating (Radiometric dating of volcanic rock)

Pottery Wheel (Rotating device for shaping clay)

Praetor (Roman magistrate with judicial and military functions)

Prehistoric Archaeology (Study of societies before writing)

Pre-Roman Italy (Diverse cultures before Roman dominance arose)

Preservation (Maintaining the condition of objects)

Primary Context (Original location of an artifact)

Principate (Early Roman Empire, from Augustus to crisis)

Processual Archaeology (Scientific, objective approach)

Proconsul (Roman governor of a senatorial province)

Protome (Animal/human bust decorative element)

Provenance (History of ownership of an object)

Provenance (History of ownership of an object)

Pseudo-Dipteral (Greek temple column arrangement)

Ptolemaic Coinage (Cleopatra VII portraits)

Ptolemaic Egypt (Hellenistic Egypt, Cleopatra’s famous dynasty)

Ptolemaic Fayum (Greco-Egyptian mummy portraits)

Ptolemaic Glass (Alexandrian luxury goods)

Ptolemaic Lighthouse (Pharos of Alexandria)

Ptolemaic Lock (Egyptian mechanical device)

Ptolemaic Nilometer (Egyptian flood gauge)

Ptolemaic Zodiac (Dendera temple ceiling)

Pucará Ceramics (Tiahuanaco precursor)

Pucará Gold (Andean early metallurgy)

Pucará Iconography (Andean dualism art)

Qabala (Jewish mystical tradition)

Qalam (Arabic word for pen)

Qalandar (Wandering Sufi dervish)

Qanat Irrigation (Ancient Middle Eastern water system)

Qaryat al-Asba (Ancient Arabian settlement)

Qaryat al-Fau (Ancient Arabian trade city)

Qasr (Islamic desert fortress structure)

Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (Umayyad desert complex)

Qasr Amra (Early Islamic desert palace)

Qasr Burqu’ (Roman and Islamic fort in Jordan)

Qasr Kharana (Umayyad desert castle)

Qasr Mushatta (Unfinished Umayyad palace)

Qat (Evergreen shrub with stimulant leaves)

Quatrefoil (Four-lobed architectural ornament)

Quatrefoil (Mesoamerican architectural motif)

Quatrefoil Lamp (Roman oil lamp design)

Qawwali (Form of Sufi devotional singing)

Qibla (Direction of Mecca for Muslim prayer)

Qibla Wall (Mosque prayer direction indicator)

Qigong (Chinese system of coordinated body-posture)

Qijia Culture (Chinese early bronze)

Qijia Culture (Early Chinese Bronze Age culture)

Qijia Jade (Chinese Neolithic artifacts)

Qijia Metallurgy (Chinese early copper)

Qijia Pottery (Chinese painted ceramics)

Qijia Settlement (Chinese walled villages)

Qin Bamboo Slips (early Chinese bureaucracy)

Qin Bronze Chariots (Chinese terracotta army)

Qin Dynasty (First imperial Chinese dynasty, unified China)

Qin Dynasty Bronze Chariots (Elaborate bronze chariots, Terracotta Army)

Qin Lacquerware (Chinese tomb offerings)

Qin Roads (Chinese imperial infrastructure)

Qin Standardization (weights/measures reform)

Qin Terracotta Army (Imperial Chinese burial complex)

Qintar (Unit of currency in Albania)

Quaternary (Geological period)

Quatrefoil (Four-lobed design)

Quaver (Musical note)

Quay (Wharf or landing stage)

Quebec (Canadian province with French heritage)

Queen Anne Style (Early 18th-century English architecture)

Queensferry (Scottish town with historic bridges)

Queensland (Australian state)

Queer Theory (Academic field)

Quell (Subdue or silence)

Quench (Satisfy thirst)

Quern (Hand mill for grinding grain)

Quern Post (Millstone pivot component)

Quern Stone (Ancient grain grinding implement)

Quest (Search for something)

Question Mark (Punctuation indicating a query)

Questionnaire (Set of printed or written questions)

Queue (Line of people or vehicles)

Quiche (Savory custard tart)

Quicklime (Calcium oxide)

Quicksand (Loose wet sand that yields easily to weight)

Quiet Revolution (Quebec social and political change)

Quill (Large feather used for writing)

Quilling (Rolling and shaping paper strips)

Quilt (Bed covering made of stitched layers)

Quince (Hard, aromatic fruit)

Quinella (Betting on the first two finishers in a race)

Quinsy (Inflammation around the tonsils)

Quintal (Unit of weight, usually 100 kilograms)

Quintet (Musical composition for five performers)

Quintus Ennius (Roman epic poet’s works)

Quipu (Andean knotted accounting system)

Quipu (Inca system of knotted cords for records)

Quipucamayoc (Inca record-keepers)

Quirk (Peculiar behavior)

Quorum (Minimum number of members for valid business)

Quota (Fixed share or limit)

Quotation (Group of words taken from a text or speech)

Quotient (Result of division)

Quran (Central religious text of Islam)

Quarry (Place where stone is extracted)

Quartering (Heraldic division of a shield)

Quartz (Hard mineral composed of silicon dioxide)

Quartzite (Metamorphic rock composed of quartz)

Quasar (Luminous active galactic nucleus)

Quaestor (Roman magistrate handling financial affairs)

Quaternion (Mathematical entity extending complex numbers)

Quetzal (Colorful bird of Central America)

Quetzalcoatl (Mesoamerican feathered serpent)

Quibla (Direction of Mecca for Muslim prayer)

Quicklime (Calcium oxide)

Quicksilver (Mercury)

Quiddity (Essence of something)

Quillet (Small piece of land)

Quincunx (Roman coin/planting pattern)

Quincunx Planting (Roman agricultural layout)

Quinine (Medicine for malaria)

Quinoa (Nutritious grain)

Quoin (External corner of a building)

Quoining (Decorative or structural cornerstones)

Quoit Brooch (Early medieval annular fastener)

Qumran Scrolls (Dead Sea text discoveries)

Radiocarbon Dating (Carbon-14 Dating) (Dating organic materials)

Raimondi Ceramics (Chavín pottery)

Raimondi Cosmology (Chavín art symbolism)

Raimondi Deity (Chavín Staff God)

Raimondi Gold (Andean early metallurgy)

Raimondi Obelisk (Andean ritual artifact)

Raimondi Staff (Andean ceremonial object)

Raimondi Stele (Chavín cult object)

Rammed Earth Walls (Great Wall) (Early construction of Chinese fortifications)

Rapa Nui Rongorongo Tablets (Undeciphered script from Easter Island)

Ras Shamra (Ugaritic cuneiform archive)

Ras Shamra Alphabet (Early alphabetic writing)

Ras Shamra Climate (Bronze Age collapse)

Ras Shamra Harbor (Bronze Age port)

Ras Shamra Ivories (Levantine luxury art)

Ras Shamra Temple (Baal cult center)

Ras Shamra Trade (Mediterranean networks)

Record (Documented information about an object/site)

Red-figure Pottery (Greek ceramic painting style)

Red-figure pottery (Greek ceramic style, red figures on black background)

Registration (Formal process of adding to a collection)

Registration (Process of formally recording objects)

Relative Dating (Ordering events in time)

Relic (Object surviving from an earlier time)

Relief (Sculptural technique with raised forms)

Remote Sensing (Acquiring information without direct contact)

Remote Sensing Geophysics (Geophysical surveys from the air)

Renaissance (Revival of classical art and learning)

Repatriation (Returning artifacts to their origin)

Repository (Place for storage)

Republic (Roman) (Period of Roman history before the Empire)

Repoussé (Metalworking hammered from the back)

Research (Systematic investigation)

Reserve Collection (Stored objects not on display)

Resin (Viscous plant secretion, often fossilized)

Resist Dyeing (Blocking dye from certain areas)

Resistivity Survey (Measuring electrical resistance in soil)

Restoration (Returning an object to a former condition)

Restoration Ethics (Principles guiding artifact repair)

Retable (Altar screen with paintings/sculptures)

Retouching (Altering an image, e.g., a photograph)

Retrieval (Act of recovering an object)

Reveal (Making something known)

Reverse (Back or “tails” side of a coin)

Revival (Reappearance of a style or practice)

Revolution (Fundamental change in society or politics)

Rhetoric (Art of persuasive speaking or writing)

Rhyton (Horn-shaped drinking vessel, often with animal head)

Rhyton (Zoomorphic ritual pouring vessel)

Rhytons (Ancient ceremonial drinking vessels)

Riace Bronzes (Classical Greek sculptures)

Riace Bronzes (Magnificent Greek bronze warrior statues)

Rib Vault (Arched support in Gothic architecture)

Ridgepole (Horizontal beam at the roof’s apex)

Rill (Small stream)

Ring Fort (Circular defensive settlement)

Riparian (Relating to the banks of a river)

Ritual Mask (Ceremonial face covering)

Ritual (Ceremonial act or series of acts)

River Valley Civilization (Early agricultural societies)

Road (Constructed route for travel)

Rococo (Ornamental style with curves and gold)

Rock Art (Prehistoric engravings or paintings on rock)

Roman Baths (Public hygiene complex)

Roman Concrete (Pozzolana-based construction)

Roman Empire (Classical superpower, peak under Emperor Trajan)

Roman Glass (Ancient glassworking tradition)

Roman Jewelry (Metalwork adornment styles)

Roman Mosaic (Tessellated floor decoration)

Roman Portraiture (Realistic sculptural tradition)

Roman Republic (Roman era before emperors, Senate and legions)

Roman Roads (Imperial transportation network)

Roman Sarcophagus (Elaborate stone coffin)

Roman Sculpture (Three-dimensional art forms)

Roman Theater (Performance architecture)

Roman Villa (Country estate architecture)

Romanesque (European architectural style)

Romanization (Assimilation into Roman culture and language)

Romanization (Cultural assimilation process)

Romanticism (Artistic and intellectual movement)

Rongorongo (Easter Island script)

Rongorongo Birdman (Rapa Nui petroglyphs)

Rongorongo Calendar (Possible lunar reckoning)

Rongorongo Genealogy (Hypothesized use)

Rongorongo Tablet (Undeciphered Polynesian)

Rongorongo Wood (Pacific island forestry)

Roof Comb (Ornamental structure on Maya temples)

Rosetta Stone (Multilingual decipherment key)

Rostra (Public speaking platform in the Roman Forum)

Rostra (Roman orator’s platform)

Rotating Exhibit (Temporary display with changing content)

Rotunda (Circular building or room with a dome)

Rubric (Heading or instruction in a text)

Ruins (Remains of a destroyed building or city)

Runes (Germanic alphabetic script)

Rural Archaeology (Study of past rural settlements)

Rus’ Khaganate (Early Viking-Slavic state, precursor to Kyiv)

Rustication (Rough-hewn stonework in architecture)

Ryukyu Kingdom (Independent kingdom of Okinawa)

Slip (Ceramics) (Liquid clay used for decoration)

Salvage Archaeology (Excavation before site destruction)

Sampling Strategy (Method for selecting areas to investigate)

Sandstone (Sedimentary rock used for carving)

Sanxingdui Altar (Chinese ritual platform)

Sanxingdui Bird (Chinese zoomorphic art)

Sanxingdui Bronzes (Chinese masked figures)

Sanxingdui Elephant (Chinese ivory carving)

Sanxingdui Jade (Chinese ritual objects)

Sanxingdui Sun (Chinese solar symbolism)

Sanxingdui Tree (Chinese bronze artifact)

Sarcophagus (Ornate stone burial container)

Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Etruscan funerary art)

Sasanian Empire (Last pre-Islamic Persian empire, Byzantium’s foe)

Scale Model (Reduced or enlarged replica)

Scagliola (Imitation marble made with plaster)

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) (High-resolution imaging)

Scholarship (Academic study and knowledge)

Scoring (Clay) (Roughing clay surfaces for joining)

Sculpture (Three-dimensional work of art)

Scythian Gold (Eurasian nomadic metalwork)

Scythian Gold (Ornate goldwork of nomadic Scythian people)

Scythians (Eurasian nomads, skilled goldsmiths and warriors)

Secondary Context (Relocated position of an artifact)

Sediment Analysis (Studying soil and sediment composition)

Seismograph (Instrument detecting earthquakes)

Selinunte (Important ancient Greek city on the southwest coast of Sicily)

Senate (Roman) (Advisory and legislative body in Roman Republic)

Seriation (Relative dating based on stylistic changes)

Seriation (Relative dating method based on style)

Servian Walls (Early defensive walls of the city of Rome)

Settlement Archaeology (Study of past human habitation patterns)

Sgraffito (Scratching through layers to reveal color)

Shang Dynasty (Early Chinese Bronze Age, oracle bone writing)

Shroud of Turin (Controversial linen cloth with image)

Showcase (Another term for display case)

Sican Batán (Andean grinding stones)

Sican Lambayeque (Peruvian metalworking)

Sican Mask (Peruvian gold funerary art)

Sican Spondylus (Andean shell offerings)

Sican Textiles (Andean featherwork)

Sican Tumi (Andean ceremonial knife)

Sican Culture (Pre-Inca civilization on the north coast of Peru)

Sigillata (Roman stamped pottery ware)

Sima (Upturned edge of a Greek roof, often decorated)

Silla Kingdom (Korean state, unified the peninsula eventually)

Site (Location of past human activity)

Site Formation Processes (Natural and cultural factors affecting sites)

Site Model (Representation of an archaeological site)

Site Survey (Systematic examination of a landscape)

Sistrum (Egyptian ritual percussion instrument)

Skene (Building behind the stage in a Greek theater)

Social Archaeology (Study of past social structures)

Social History (Study of everyday life in the past)

Sogdian Caravan (Silk Road trade depictions)

Sogdian Dancing (Central Asian performance)

Sogdian Fire Temple (Central Asian religion)

Sogdian Letters (Central Asian correspondence)

Sogdian Murals (Silk Road merchant art)

Sogdian Ossuary (Zoroastrian burial practice)

Sogdian Wine (Transoxiana viticulture)

Soldering (Joining metals with a filler metal)

Source (Origin of information or an object)

Space (Physical area of a museum/exhibition)

Spatial Analysis (Examining the distribution of artifacts)

Spatial Statistics (Analyzing spatial patterns in data)

Specimen (Individual example of an object)

Spectroscopy (Analyzing light to identify materials)

Sphinx (Mythological hybrid creature)

Staff (Employees of a museum/archaeological project)

Stained Glass (Colored glass pieces in a design)

Stanchion (Post used with rope for crowd control)

Stater (Ancient Greek coin standard)

Stater (coin) (Standard ancient Greek silver or gold coin)

Stele (Carved commemorative stone slab)

Stele (Upright stone slab, often inscribed or decorated)

Stenciling (Applying paint through a cut-out design)

Stewardship (Responsible care of collections/sites)

Stoa (Greek covered colonnade structure)

Stoa (Long, colonnaded building used for public life)

Stone Carving (Shaping stone by cutting/abrasion)

Storage (Secure keeping of collection items)

Stola (Long, draped garment worn by Roman women)

Stratigraphy (Archaeological layer analysis)

Stratigraphy (Layering of archaeological deposits)

Stretcher (Wooden frame for supporting canvas)

Strigil (Ancient bathing scraping tool)

Stucco (Plaster used for decorative molding or wall covering)

Study Collection (Objects available for close examination)

Submycenaean (Post-palatial Greek period)

Subsistence Patterns (How people obtained food and resources)

Sulla’s Reforms (Roman constitutional changes)

Sumerian Civilization (Earliest Mesopotamian culture, cuneiform invention)

Sumerian King List (Mesopotamian dynastic record)

Sunken Relief (Egyptian carving technique)

Survey (Systematic examination of an area)

Sutton Hoo Treasure (Anglo-Saxon burial ship artifacts)

Symposium (Greek aristocratic drinking party)

Taberna (Shop or single-room dwelling in Roman cities)

Tablets of Heraclea (Ancient Greek bronze legal inscriptions)

Tablinum (Office or reception room in a Roman house)

Talayotic Culture (Balearic prehistoric)

Tanagra Figurines (Boeotian terracotta)

Tang Dynasty (“Golden Age” of China, cosmopolitan and artistic)

Tannery (Leather processing workshop)

Tapestry Weaving (Creating images with woven threads)

Taphonomy (Study of fossilization and site formation)

Tarim Cannabis (early psychoactive use)

Tarim Ephedra (early medicinal use)

Tarim Mummies (Xinjiang Caucasian remains)

Tarim Sogdian (Silk Road merchant influence)

Tarim Textiles (ancient tartan fabrics)

Tarim Tocharian (Indo-European language)

Tarim Wooden Tablets (Kharosthi script)

Tartan (Woven wool pattern)

Tassili n’Ajjer Cave Art (Saharan rock paintings and engravings)

Tau Cross (T-shaped cross)

Taxonomy (System of classification)

Tell (Archaeological mound)

Tell Brak (Ancient Mesopotamian city)

Tell Halaf (Syrian Neolithic site)

Telamon (Architectural male support figure)

Tempera (Paint with egg yolk binder)

Temple (Greek architecture) (Structure dedicated to a deity, central to worship)

Temporary Exhibition (Short-term display)

Tempering (Metal) (Heat treatment for desired hardness)

Tepidarium (Warm bathing pool in Roman baths)

Terracotta (Fired clay, often used for architectural decoration)

Terracotta (Unglazed, fired clay)

Terracotta Army (Qin Dynasty life-sized clay soldiers)

Tesserae (Mosaic tile components)

Tesserae (Small square tiles used in mosaic art)

Tetradrachm (Ancient Greek silver coin)

Textile Weaving (Interlacing threads to create fabric)

Thebes (Important city-state in ancient Boeotia)

Theme (Central idea of an exhibition)

Theory (System of ideas explaining phenomena)

Thermae (Large imperial Roman bath complexes)

Thermoluminescence Dating (TL) (Dating heated materials)

Tholos tomb (Beehive-shaped tomb, characteristic of Mycenaean Greece)

Tholos Tomb (Mycenaean circular grave)

Three-Dimensional Recording (Precisely documenting artifact locations)

Throwing (Pottery) (Shaping clay on a wheel)

Timeline (Chronological sequence of events)

Timurid Empire (Central Asian realm, patrons of Persian art)

Tiwanaku Empire (Andean polity, Lake Titicaca was center)

Tiwanaku Astronomy (Kalasasaya alignments)

Tiwanaku Gate (Andean Sun Portal)

Tiwanaku Gold (Andean metallurgy)

Tiwanaku Irrigation (raised field systems)

Tiwanaku Monolith (Andean deity statues)

Tiwanaku Polychrome (Andean pottery)

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku (Andean stonemasonry)

Tlatilco Ballgame (early rubber ball evidence)

Tlatilco Burials (Mesoamerican infant graves)

Tlatilco Ceramics (early Mexican pottery)

Tlatilco Figurines (Mesoamerican duality art)

Tlatilco Masks (Mexican ritual objects)

Tlatilco Shamanism (transformation figurines)

Toga (Formal draped garment worn by Roman male citizens)

Toga (Roman citizen’s woolen garment)

Tondo (Circular artistic composition)

Tondo (Circular painting or relief sculpture)

Torc (Celtic neck ring ornament)

Torcular (Wine or olive oil press in Roman agriculture)

Total Station (Electronic surveying instrument)

Tour (Guided visit through an exhibition/site)

Trace Element Analysis (Identifying material origins)

Trajan’s Column (Roman triumphal column depicting Trajan’s Dacian Wars)

Transect Survey (Survey along linear paths)

Transcription (Converting spoken words or text)

Translation (Converting text from one language to another)

Tribunal (Roman) (Elevated platform for magistrates or speakers)

Tribune of the Plebs (Roman magistrate protecting plebeian interests)

Triclinium (Formal dining room in a Roman house)

Tridacna Shell (Ancient cosmetic container)

Triglyph (Grooved architectural element in a Doric frieze)

Triumph (Roman) (Ceremonial parade for victorious generals)

Trireme (Ancient Greek warship with three banks of oars)

Triptolemus Painter (Attic vase artist)

Trompe-l’œil (Art that creates an optical illusion)

Tufa (Volcanic building stone)

Tumulus (Etruscan or Roman burial mound)

Tumulus Culture (European Bronze Age)

Tutankhamun’s Mask (Gold funerary mask of Egyptian pharaoh)

Type (Category of similar artifacts)

Typology (Classification based on shared characteristics)

Typology (Classifying artifacts by form and function)

Tyrannicide (Tyrant-slaying monument)

Tylissos (Minoan settlement site)

Tylissos Inscription (Cretan Linear A text)

Tylissos Treasure (Minoan metalwork find)

Tymbos (Greek burial mound term)

Tympanum (Architectural semicircular space)

Tyrian Purple (Phoenician dye industry)

Ubaid Burial (early Mesopotamian practices)

Ubaid Fish Symbolism (early marsh culture)

Ubaid Lizardmen (pre-Sumerian figurines)

Ubaid Pottery (Mesopotamian early ceramics)

Ubaid Tells (early settlement mounds)

Ubaid Trade (Persian Gulf networks)

Ubiquitous Finds (Common artifacts found across a site)

Ugaritic Alphabet (Early Semitic script)

Ugaritic Pantheon (Canaanite deities)

Ugaritic Texts (Bronze Age archive)

Ugaritic Trade (Levantine commerce)

Uluburun Shipwreck (Late Bronze Age Mediterranean trade)

Ultisol (Soil order, weathered tropical/subtropical)

Ultramarine (Blue pigment from lapis lazuli)

Ulu (Eskimo knife)

Ulug-Depe (Turkmenistan Bronze Age site)

Ulundi (Zulu capital, site of battle)

Umayyad Art (Artistic style of the Umayyad Caliphate)

Umayyad Architecture (Building style of the Umayyads)

Umayyad Caliphate (First Islamic dynasty, spread to Spain)

Umbilicus (Central point, navel-like feature)

Umbrian Language (Italic dialect)

Umbo (Boss of a shield)

Umlaut (Vowel sound change, diacritic mark)

Uncial Script (Early medieval writing)

Unconformity (Gap in the geological record)

Underglaze (Decoration applied before glazing)

Underworld Depictions (Funerary iconography)

Undulating (Having a wavy form)

Unguentarium (Small glass or ceramic oil/perfume bottle)

Unicameral (Having a single legislative chamber)

Unipedal (Having only one foot or leg)

Univalve (Mollusk with a single shell)

Universalism (Belief in universal principles)

University (Institution of higher education)

Unfinished Obelisk (Aswan quarry artifact)

Unicameral (Having a single legislative chamber)

Unipedal (Having only one foot or leg)

Univalve (Mollusk with a single shell)

Universalism (Belief in universal principles)

University (Institution of higher education)

Unwrought (Not worked or processed)

Upright (Vertical position)

Upslope (Moving or situated uphill)

Ur (Ancient Sumerian city-state)

Ural Mountains (Mountain range in Russia)

Uranus (Seventh planet from the Sun)

Urartian Art (Artistic style of Urartu)

Urartian Ceramics (Pottery of the Urartu kingdom)

Urartian Fortress (Anatolian stronghold)

Urartian Language (Ancient language of Urartu)

Urartian Metalwork (Metal artifacts from Urartu)

Urartian Religion (Beliefs of the Urartu kingdom)

Urartu Bronze (ancient Armenian metallurgy)

Urartu Cuneiform (Van kingdom inscriptions)

Urartu Fortress (Armenian mountain strongholds)

Urartu Horse Gear (military equipment)

Urartu Irrigation (Anatolian canals)

Urartu Kingdom (Iron Age Anatolia, rival to Assyria)

Urartu Redware (distinctive pottery style)

Urartu Rock Tombs (Van region necropolises)

Ur Royal Tombs (Sumerian burials with rich grave goods)

Urban Archaeology (Study of archaeological remains in cities)

Urban Center (Large, densely populated settlement)

Urban Planning (Designing the layout of cities)

Urban Sprawl (Uncontrolled expansion of urban areas)

Urbanization Patterns (Settlement development)

Urewe Culture (Early Iron Age East Africa)

Uric Acid (Waste product in urine)

Urn (Vessel for cremated remains)

Urn Burial (Cremation container practice)

Ursus (Genus of bears)

Uruguay (South American country)

Uruk Period (Mesopotamian urban origins)

Uruk Vase (Early Sumerian alabaster ritual vessel)

Usbekistan (Central Asian country)

Usage (Way something is used)

Use-Wear Analysis (Studying artifact damage from use)

Usurper (Person who takes power illegally)

Utensil (Tool used in the household)

Uterus (Womb)

Utility (State of being useful)

Utopia (Ideal or perfect place)

Utraque Unum (Latin for “both as one”)

Ultraviolet (Electromagnetic radiation)

Umayyad Art (Artistic style of the Umayyad Caliphate)

Umayyad Architecture (Building style of the Umayyads)

Upper Paleolithic (Late Old Stone Age)

Uppsala (Swedish city with a historic university)

Ubiquitous (Present everywhere)

Ulterior Motive (Hidden reason)

Ultimate Goal (Final aim)

Umbra (Darkest part of a shadow)

Unabridged (Complete, not shortened)

Unanimous (In complete agreement)

Unassuming (Modest, not pretentious)

Unbiased (Objective, without prejudice)

Uncanny (Strange or mysterious)

Unearth (Dig up from the ground)

Unearthed (Discovered by digging)

Value (Significance or worth of an object/site)

Văn Lang (Legendary first Vietnamese early state)

Varna Ceramics (Bulgarian painted pottery)

Varna Copper (early metallurgical center)

Varna Culture (European Copper Age, significant early gold)

Varna Flint (Bulgarian toolmaking)

Varna Gold (Bulgarian Chalcolithic hoard)

Varna Gold Treasure (Oldest known significant gold hoard)

Varna Necropolis (world’s oldest gold artifacts)

Varna Shell (Mediterranean trade evidence)

Varna Status (early social stratification)

Varnish (Transparent protective coating)

Vault (Secure room for storing valuable items)

Vedic Agnicayana (fire altar construction)

Vedic Altar (Indian fire ritual structures)

Vedic Astronomy (early Indian observations)

Vedic Brick (ritual construction rules)

Vedic Chariot (spoked-wheel technology)

Vedic Period (Early India, Rigveda compositions emerged)

Vedic Soma (ritual psychoactive plant)

Venus de Milo (Famous Hellenistic marble statue of Aphrodite)

Vertical Excavation (Deep digging to reveal stratigraphy)

Vexillum (Roman military standard)

Via Appia (Famous Roman road)

Via Appia (Important Roman road connecting Rome to southern Italy)

Vicus (Neighborhood or street in a Roman city)

Vicus (Roman neighborhood unit)

Viking Age (Scandinavian expansion, raiding and trading occurred)

Viking Glass (Norse beadmaking)

Viking Hoard (silver treasure deposits)

Viking Rune Stones (Inscribed memorial stones from Scandinavia)

Viking Rune Stones (memorial monuments)

Viking Runes (Norse epigraphic tradition)

Viking Ship Burial (Oseberg/Gokstad)

Viking Silver (hackmetal currency)

Viking Thor’s Hammer (amulet artifacts)

Villa (Roman) (Country estate or large house)

Villa Romana (Roman country estate)

Villa Rustica (Agricultural estate)

Villanovan Culture (Etruscan precursor)

Vindolanda Tablets (Roman military and personal letters)

Virtual Museum (Online platform for viewing collections)

Visitor Experience (Overall impression of a museum visit)

Vitruvian Proportions (Architectural ratios)

Volcanic Glass Tools (Obsidian implements)

Volunteer (Unpaid worker assisting a museum/project)

Volute (Spiral scroll characteristic of Ionic and Corinthian capitals)

Volute Krater (Greek mixing vessel)

Votive Altar (Small offering structure)

Votive Crown (Ceremonial headgear)

Votive Deposit (Ritual object cache)

Votive Inscription (Dedicatory text)

Votive Offering (Religious dedication)

Votive Relief (Carved dedication slab)

Votive Ship (Nautical offering model)

Votive Statue (Religious dedication)

Votive Stela (Commemorative stone marker)

Vulcan Statue (Roman god depiction)

Vulci (Important ancient Etruscan city)

Vulgate Manuscripts (Latin Bible texts)

Vacuum Forming (Plastic shaping technique)

Vandalism (Intentional damage to property)

Vanishing Cream (Cosmetic preparation)

Vantage Point (Position offering a good view)

Vaporization (Process of turning into vapor)

Variable (Element subject to change)

Varve (Annual layer of sediment)

Vascular Plant (Plant with conducting tissues)

Vase Painting (Art of decorating ceramic vessels)

Vaulting (Constructing arched ceilings or roofs)

Vector (Quantity with magnitude and direction)

Velarium (Awning over Roman amphitheaters)

Vellum (Fine parchment made from animal skin)

Velocity (Rate of change of position)

Veneer (Thin layer of decorative material)

Ventilation (Circulation of air)

Veranda (Covered porch)

Verdant (Green with vegetation)

Verifiable (Able to be proven true)

Vermin (Pest animals)

Vernacular Architecture (Traditional local building style)

Verse (Line of poetry)

Vertebrate (Animal with a backbone)

Vertex (Highest point or corner)

Vertical (Upright)

Vestibule (Entrance hall)

Vestige (Trace of something that no longer exists)

Veterinarian (Animal doctor)

Viaduct (Bridge carrying a road or railway)

Vibrant (Full of energy and life)

Vicennialia (20th anniversary of Roman emperor’s reign)

Vigil (Period of watchful attention)

Vignette (Brief evocative description)

Villa Urbana (Roman town house)

Viniculture (Cultivation of grapevines for wine)

Vintage (Year of wine production)

Vinyl (Synthetic plastic material)

Violin (Stringed musical instrument)

Virtuoso (Highly skilled musician)

Viscosity (Thickness of a liquid)

Wagon Burial (Vehicle-containing grave)

Wainscoting (Decorative or protective lower wall covering)

Walk-through (Initial assessment of a site/exhibition)

Wall Painting (Mural art applied to walls)

Wall Relief (Sculptural decoration projecting from a wall)

Wadi (Dry riverbed)

War Canoe (Large indigenous boat)

War Memorial (Structure commemorating war events)

Ward (Division of a city)

Warrego (Australian river)

Wash Drawing (Monochrome painting technique)

Water Buffalo (Large bovine animal)

Watermark (Identifying image in paper)

Wari Agriculture (Andean terrace systems)

Wari Architecture (Peruvian planned cities)

Wari Burial (Andean elite tombs)

Wari Ceramics (Peruvian polychrome)

Wari Collapse (Andean climate factors)

Wari Elite (Andean social hierarchy)

Wari Empire (Pre-Inca Andes, terraced agriculture developed)

Wari Featherwork (Andean luxury goods)

Wari Hydraulics (Andean water management)

Wari Iconography (Andean religious art)

Wari Khipu (Andean record-keeping)

Wari Legacy (Andean cultural continuity)

Wari Metalwork (Andean gold/silver)

Wari Ritual (Andean ceremonial cups)

Wari Road (Andean imperial infrastructure)

Wari Sculpture (Andean stone carvings)

Wari Storage (Andean qollqa buildings)

Wari Tapestry (Andean textile art)

Wari Textiles (Andean weaving techniques)

Wari Trade (Andean exchange networks)

Wari Warfare (Andean military expansion)

Warp (Longitudinal threads in weaving)

Wash (Thin, translucent layer of paint)

Waste Material (Byproducts of production or consumption)

Water Mill (Roman industrial technology)

Water Table (Upper level of underground water)

Water Transport (Ancient means of moving goods and people)

Water Well (Shaft dug to access groundwater)

Watercraft (Boats, ships, and other vessels)

Watercolor Paint (Transparent paint with water binder)

Waterlogged (Saturated with water, affecting preservation)

Watershed (Area draining into a river or lake)

Waterworn (Eroded or smoothed by water action)

Wattle and Daub (Prehistoric construction)

Wayfinding (Ancient methods of navigation)

Wax Tablet (Ancient writing surface)

Wear Patterns (Traces of use on an artifact’s surface)

Weathering (Breakdown of materials by natural forces)

Weaving Comb (Textile production tool)

Weapon Burial (Martial grave goods)

Weir (Low dam built across a river)

Welt (Strip of material joining parts of leather or fabric)

Wenchang Tower (Traditional Chinese pagoda for scholars)

Westwork (Monumental western facade of a church)

Wet Clay (Plastic and workable stage of clay)

Wet Sieve (Fine mesh screen used in excavation)

Wheel-thrown Pottery (Ceramics shaped on a rotating wheel)

Whetstone (Tool sharpening implement)

White-ground Lekythos (Funerary vase style)

Whitewash (Thin coating of lime for walls)

Whole Vessel Analysis (Study of complete ceramic forms)

Wicker Shield (Ancient lightweight armor)

Winch (Mechanical device for lifting or pulling)

Wind Erosion (Wearing away of soil by wind)

Wind Rose (Roman compass diagram)

Window Glass (Transparent material used in windows)

Wing (Lateral section of a building)

Winged Victory of Samothrace (Hellenistic marble statue of Nike)

Winter Count (Lakota calendar using pictographs)

Wireframe Model (3D representation using lines and vertices)

Wissenswert (German for “worth knowing,” interesting fact)

Woad (Blue dye derived from a plant)

Wood Analysis (Identification and study of wood types)

Wood Carving (Shaping wood with tools)

Wood Decay (Decomposition of wood by fungi or insects)

Woodcut (Relief printmaking from a wood block)

Wooden Tablet (Writing surface material)

Woodworking Tools (Implements used to shape wood)

Wool (Textile fiber from sheep)

Woolly Mammoth (Extinct ice age mammal)

Word List (Collection of terms related to a topic)

Work Camp (Temporary settlement for laborers)

Workforce (Group of people engaged in work)

Worldview (Fundamental cognitive orientation)

Wormhole (Hypothetical shortcut through spacetime)

Worship (Religious reverence and adoration)

Wrapping (Protecting artifacts with materials)

Wreath Burial (Funerary plant remains)

Writing System (Method of visually representing language)

Written Record (Documented information in textual form)

Wrong-Sided (Reverse or inner surface of fabric)

Wrought (Worked or shaped by hammering)

Wrought Iron (Ancient metalworking)

Würm Glaciation (Paleolithic climate phase)

Wyandotte (North American indigenous people)

Wych Elm (Type of deciduous tree)

Wyvern (Mythical winged serpent creature)

Xanthate (Chemical compound, historically used in mining)

Xanthic (Yellowish color sometimes found in ancient pigments or patinas)

Xanthic Acid (Related to Xanthate, potential in ancient processes)

Xanthine (Purine base, found in ancient DNA)

Xanthochroism (Abnormal yellowness in ancient materials due to chemical changes)

Xanthophyll (Yellow pigment in ancient plant remains)

Xebec (Small, fast Mediterranean sailing ship, relevant to ancient trade)

Xenacanthus (Extinct shark genus, Paleozoic fossils)

Xenacodon (Extinct mammal genus, early evolutionary history)

Xenarthra (Superorder of mammals, fossils found in ancient deposits)

Xenaspis (Extinct trilobite genus)

Xenestes (Extinct reptile genus)

Xenobiotic (Foreign materials found in archaeological contexts due to trade or interaction)

Xenochrony (Anachronisms or inconsistencies in historical timelines)

Xenocryst (Foreign crystal found within archaeological materials, indicating origin or trade)

Xenoculture (Hypothetical study of extinct alien cultures)

Xenocyon (Extinct dog genus)

Xenodermus (Genus of Asian snakes, evolutionary studies)

Xenoglossy (Hypothesized ability to speak ancient, unlearned languages)

Xenoglyph (Hypothetical ancient alien writing system)

Xenography (Study of foreign writing systems, including ancient ones)

Xenolith (Foreign rock fragment in ancient structures or deposits, hinting at geological context)

Xenolite (Rare mineral found in some ancient geological contexts)

Xenomorphic (Crystal shapes in ancient ceramics or metallurgy, indicating formation processes)

Xenon (Trace element analysis in ancient materials)

Xenoparasite (Organism foreign to an ancient host, indicating migration or interaction)

Xenopterygii (Order of fishes)

Xenopus (Genus of African frogs, used in biological research)

Xenopus amieti (Amiet’s clawed frog)

Xenopus andrei (Andre’s clawed frog)

Xenopus borealis (Northern clawed frog)

Xenopus gilli (Cape clawed frog)

Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog)

Xenopus muelleri (Mueller’s clawed frog)

Xenopus tropicalis (Western clawed frog)

Xenopus vestitus (Lake Oku clawed frog)

Xenorhabdus (Genus of bacteria)

Xenotime (Rare earth mineral used in dating ancient zircons)

Xenoturbella (Simple marine worm, relevant to understanding early animal life)

Xerarch Succession (Ecological changes on dry ancient landscapes)

Xerocoles (Ancient animals adapted to arid archaeological sites)

Xeromorphic (Adaptations of ancient textiles or plant remains to dry conditions)

Xerophyte (Ancient plants adapted to dry regions, evidence of past climates)

Xeroradiography (X-ray imaging of artifacts to reveal internal structures)

Xiphosurida (Fossil remains of ancient horseshoe crabs, paleoenvironmental data)

Xoana (Plural of Xoanon, archaic wooden cult statues in ancient Greece)

Xoana-like (Artifacts resembling archaic wooden cult figures)

Xoanon (Archaic wooden cult image in ancient Greece)

Xoanon Base (Archaeological remains of statue supports)

Xoanon Cult (Ancient religious practices centered on wooden image)

Xoanon Fragment (Archaeological find of a broken cult statue)

Xoanon Workshop (Hypothetical ancient artisan area)

X-radiography (X-ray imaging of artifacts to reveal internal structures)

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) (Elemental analysis of ancient materials)

X-ray diffraction (XRD) (Analysis of crystalline materials in ancient artifacts)

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Surface elemental analysis of artifacts)

X-ray microscopy (High-resolution imaging of ancient material structures)

Xylanthrax (Fossilized wood from archaeological sites)

Xylariaceae (Fungi that decomposed ancient wood)

Xylariales (Plant order, some members found in ancient pollen records)

Xylariomycetes (Class of fungi, some found in ancient wood)

Xylem (Plant tissue analysis in ancient botanical remains)

Xylia (Ancient uses of this plant genus)

Xylindein (Blue stain in ancient wood, a taphonomic indicator)

Xylitol (Presence in ancient plant remains, potential dietary evidence)

Xylobiose (Sugar from ancient wood, potential dietary or technological residue)

Xylochrome (Staining of ancient wood, affecting its appearance)

Xylocopa (Ancient carpenter bee damage in wooden artifacts)

Xylogen (Plant tissue related to ancient wood growth)

Xyloglyphy (Ancient wood engraving techniques for art or record-keeping)

Xylolite (Petrified wood, found in ancient contexts)

Xylology (Study of ancient wood remains, crucial for dating and environmental reconstruction)

Xyloma (Plant tumors in ancient wood, potential environmental stress markers)

Xylonic Acid (Breakdown product of xylose, found in ancient materials)

Xylophagous (Wood-eating insects that can damage wooden artifacts)

Xylophile (Organisms that degrade ancient wood, important for conservation)

Xylophon (Archaic spelling of Xylophone, a possible ancient instrument)

Xylopyranose (Component of some ancient plant carbohydrates)

Xylorimba (Related to Xylophone, potential ancient variations)

Xylosandrus (Ancient ambrosia beetle damage in wood)

Xylosidase (Enzyme breaking down xylose-containing compounds in ancient remains)

Xylosma (Ancient uses of this plant genus)

Xylostroma (Fungal crust on ancient wood)

Xylosyl (Chemical group found in ancient biomolecules)

Xylotomy (Analysis of ancient wood structure to identify species and use)

Xylulase (Enzyme related to xylose metabolism in ancient organisms)

Xylose (Sugar found in ancient plant materials)

Xylyl (Chemical group, potential component of ancient organic materials)

Xyridaceae (Ancient plant remains indicating past wetland environments)

Xyris (Plant remains found in archaeological sites, indicating past environments)

Xyst (Archaic spelling of Xystus, a covered exercise area in ancient Greece)

Xystarch (Official overseeing the Xystus in ancient times)

Xysticus (Genus of spiders found in ancient Mediterranean regions)

Xyston (Macedonian cavalry lance, an important ancient weapon)

Xystos (Long, covered portico or exercise area in ancient Greece)

Yak Herding (Pastoral practice)

Yak Leather (Durable material)

Yak Wool (Warm and strong fiber)

Yam (Starchy root vegetable)

Yamashita’s Gold (Alleged WWII looted treasure in Asia)

Yamato Period (Early unified Japanese state, Shinto’s rise)

Yang (Active principle in Chinese philosophy)

Yangshao Burial (Chinese early practices)

Yangshao Climate (Neolithic adaptations)

Yangshao Jade (Chinese early carvings)

Yangshao Pottery (Chinese painted ceramics)

Yangshao Symbols (Chinese proto-writing)

Yangshao Tools (Chinese stone implements)

Yangshao Village (Chinese Neolithic settlement)

Yaghan Canoes (Traditional watercraft)

Yaghan Language (Extinct language of Tierra del Fuego)

Yaghan People (Indigenous Fuegian culture)

Yaksas (Nature spirits in Indian mythology)

Yale Babylonian Collection (Cuneiform tablet archive)

Yantra (Mystical diagram in Eastern religions)

Yardang (Wind-eroded landform)

Yarmukian Culture (Early Neolithic Levantine)

Yaroslavl (Historic Russian city)

Yassa (Mongol legal code)

Yatağan (Ottoman sword)

Yayoi Agriculture (Japanese wet rice)

Yayoi Bronze (Japanese ritual bells)

Yayoi Glass (Japanese early imports)

Yayoi Iron (Japanese early metallurgy)

Yayoi Period (Japanese Iron Age, rice cultivation began)

Yayoi Pottery (Japanese protohistoric ware)

Yayoi Ritual (Japanese ceremonial objects)

Yayoi Settlement (Japanese moated villages)

Yayoi Weaving (Japanese textile evidence)

Yaz Culture (Central Asian Bronze Age)

Yazd (Ancient Persian city)

Yazilikaya (Hittite rock sanctuary)

Yeha (Early Ethiopian kingdom)

Yellow Emperor (Mythical Chinese sovereign)

Yellow River Civilization (Early Chinese heartland)

Yellow Turban Rebellion (Late Han Dynasty peasant revolt)

Yellowstone (US National Park)

Yemenite Architecture (Distinctive building styles)

Yemenite Pottery (Distinctive regional ceramics)

Yen (Japanese currency)

Yenisei River (Major Siberian river)

Yerevan (Capital of Armenia, ancient origins)

Yesd (Ancient Iranian city)

Yew (Long-lived evergreen tree, symbolic)

Yew Bow (Traditional English weapon)

Yggdrasil (World Tree in Norse mythology)

Yi Dynasty (Korean Joseon Dynasty)

Yijing (Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk)

Yin (Passive principle in Chinese philosophy)

Yin Dynasty (Chinese Shang Dynasty)

Yin-Yang (Dualistic concept)

Yinxu Oracle Bones (Earliest known Chinese writing)

Yoga (Ancient Indian spiritual practice)

Yoke (Oxen harnessing implement)

Yoke Burial (Ritual interment practice)

Yoke Chronology (Dating framework)

Yoke Context (Archaeological association)

Yoke Decoration (Ceremonial ornamentation)

Yoke Distribution (Geographic spread)

Yoke Fragment (Archaeological remnant)

Yoke Function (Practical applications)

Yoke Interpretation (Cultural analysis)

Yoke Material (Construction substances)

Yoke Ornament (Decorative elements)

Yoke Peg (Fastening component)

Yoke Reconstruction (Experimental archaeology)

Yoke Ring (Harness attachment point)

Yoke Symbolism (Cultural significance)

Yoke Typology (Classification system)

Yoruba Art (West African sculptural tradition)

Yoruba Kingdom (West African historical state)

Ypres (Belgian city, WWI battle site)

Yucatán Peninsula (Maya cultural region)

Yucatec Maya (Mayan language)

Yugoslavia (Former Balkan state)

Yukaghir (Indigenous people of Siberia)

Yukon Territory (Canadian territory)

Yule (Winter solstice festival)

Yunnan (Province in Southwest China)

Yup’ik Art (Alaskan Indigenous art forms)

Yupik Peoples (Alaskan Indigenous group)

Yurt (Central Asian nomadic dwelling)

Yubetsu Technique (Paleolithic microblades)

Yuezhi Art (Gandharan influences)

Yuezhi Coinage (Indo-Greek influenced)

Yuezhi Elite (nomadic aristocracy)

Yuezhi Language (possible Tocharian link)

Yuezhi Migration (Central Asian nomadic movement)

Yuezhi Trade (Silk Road intermediaries)

Yutu (Jade Rabbit on the Moon in Chinese folklore)

Zanj (East African slave laborers in Mesopotamia)

Zapotec Calendar (Mesoamerican timekeeping)

Zapotec Civilization (Mesoamerican Monte Albán builders, advanced culture)

Zapotec Decline (Mesoamerican transition)

Zapotec Glyphs (Mexican writing system)

Zapotec Palace (Mexican elite residences)

Zapotec Tomb (Mexican elite burials)

Zapotec Trade (Mesoamerican networks)

Zapotec Urn (Mexican funerary ceramics)

Zapotec Urns (Mesoamerican funerary ceramic vessels)

Zenith (Highest point in the sky)

Zhou Astronomy (Chinese celestial records)

Zhou Bronzes (Chinese ritual vessels)

Zhou Bureaucracy (Chinese administrative reform)

Zhou Chariot (Chinese warfare technology)

Zhou Dynasty (Longest Chinese dynasty, Confucius’ era)

Zhou Dynasty Ritual Bronzes (Chinese ceremonial bronze vessels)

Zhou Iron (Chinese metallurgical shift)

Zhou Jade (Chinese ritual objects)

Zhou Philosophy (Chinese Hundred Schools)

Zhoukoudian (Chinese Paleolithic site, Homo erectus fossils found)

Ziggurat (Mesopotamian stepped temple)

Ziggurat Access (Points of entry to ziggurats)

Ziggurat Alignment (Orientation of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Analogy (Comparison of ziggurats to similar structures)

Ziggurat Art (Decorative elements found on ziggurats)

Ziggurat Beliefs (Religious context surrounding ziggurats)

Ziggurat Brick (Common construction material for ziggurats)

Ziggurat Complex (The ziggurat and its surrounding buildings)

Ziggurat Construction (Methods of building ziggurats)

Ziggurat Conservation (Measures taken to protect ziggurats)

Ziggurat Core (mud brick construction)

Ziggurat Culture (Civilizations that built ziggurats)

Ziggurat Decline (Reasons for the abandonment of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Design (Architectural plans of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Documentation (Recording the features of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Economy (Resources associated with ziggurat temples)

Ziggurat Elevation (Height of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Excavation (Archaeological study of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Foundation (Base structure of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Function (Purposes of ziggurats)

Ziggurat History (Development of ziggurats over time)

Ziggurat Influence (Architectural impact of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Inscription (Writing found on ziggurats)

Ziggurat Interpretation (Public understanding of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Location (Geographic distribution of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Materials (Components used to build ziggurats)

Ziggurat Model (Small-scale representation of a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Mud (Binding agent used in ziggurat construction)

Ziggurat Offering (Items left at ziggurats)

Ziggurat Plan (Layout of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Platform (Elevated base of a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Priest (Religious official associated with ziggurats)

Ziggurat Research (Ongoing scholarly studies of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Restoration (Efforts to preserve ziggurats)

Ziggurat Ritual (Ceremonies performed at ziggurats)

Ziggurat Scale (Size and dimensions of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Shrine (Structure at the summit of a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Staircase (Steps leading up a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Symbolism (Religious and cultural meaning of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Temple (Religious structure atop a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Terraces (Stepped levels of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Tourism (Ziggurats as visitor attractions)

Ziggurat View (Perspective from or towards a ziggurat)

Zigzag Motif (Decorative pattern)

Zodiac Mosaic (Roman celestial depiction)

Zoning (Dividing a site/museum into areas)

Zooarchaeology (Another term for Archaeozoology)

Zoomorphic Amulet (Protective charm)

Zoomorphic Appliqué (Surface decoration)

Zoomorphic Attachment (Functional fitting)

Zoomorphic Brooch (Clothing fastener)

Zoomorphic Buckle (Belt clasp)

Zoomorphic Decoration (Animal imagery)

Zoomorphic Fibula (Animal brooch)

Zoomorphic Figurine (Animal statuette)

Zoomorphic Finial (Architectural ornament)

Zoomorphic Handle (Vessel grip design)

Zoomorphic Ornament (Decorative element)

Zoomorphic Pendant (Worn amulet)

Zoomorphic Seal (Animal-shaped stamp)

Zoomorphic Spout (Pouring channel form)

Zoomorphic Vessel (Animal-shaped container)

Zoomorphic Weight (Measuring device)

Zoroastrianism (Ancient Persian religion)

Zosteria (Greek belt/harness fittings)

Ziggurat Stone (Stone used in some ziggurat construction)

Ziggurat City (City where a major ziggurat was located)

Ziggurat God (Deity associated with a specific ziggurat)

Ziggurat Topography (Landscape surrounding a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Measurement (Dimensions of a ziggurat)

Ziggurat Era (Time period when ziggurats were prominent)

Ziggurat Symbol (Ziggurat as a cultural or religious emblem)

Ziggurat Text (Ancient writings mentioning ziggurats)

Ziggurat Art History (Study of ziggurats in art)

Ziggurat Engineering (Technical aspects of ziggurat building)

Ziggurat Decoration Program (System of ornamentation on ziggurats)

Ziggurat Pilgrimage (Travel to ziggurats for religious purposes)

Ziggurat Astronomy (Possible astronomical uses of ziggurats)

Ziggurat Brickmaking (Craft of producing bricks for ziggurats)