| prehistory | In general, the human past; specifically, the time before the appearance of written records.
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| archaeology | The study of the human past, combining the themes of time and change.
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| era | A major division of geological time, tens or hundreds of millions of years long, usually distinguished by significant changes in the plant and animal kingdoms. Also used to denote later archaeological periods, such as the prehistoric era.
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| m.y.a. | Abbreviation for millions of years ago.
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| epoch | A subdivision of geological time, millions of years long, representing units of eras.
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| culture | A uniquely human means of nonbiological adaptation; a repertoire of learned behaviors for coping with the physical and social environments.
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| evolution | The process of change over time resulting from shifting conditions of the physical and cultural environments, involving mechanisms of mutation and natural selection.
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| artifact | Any object or item created or modified by human action.
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| site | The accumulation of artifacts and/or ecofacts, representing a place where people lived or carried out certain activities.
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| fieldwork | The search for archaeological sites in the landscape through surveys and excavations.
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| survey | A systematic search of the landscape for artifacts and sites on the ground through aerial photography, field walking, soil analysis, and geophysical prospecting.
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| excavation | The exposure and recording of buried materials from the past.
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| ground-penetrating radar (GPR or georadar) | An instrument for remote sensing or prospecting for buried structures using radar maps of subsoil features.
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| bioturbation | Activities of plants and animals in the earth, causing disturbance of archaeological materials.
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| shell midden | A mound of shells accumulated from human collection, consumption, and disposal; a dump of shells from oysters, clams, mussels, or other species found along coasts and rivers, usually dating to the Holocene.
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| ecofact | Any of the remains of plants, animals, sediments, or other unmodified materials that result from human activity.
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| feature | An immovable structure or layer, pit, or post in the ground having archaeological significance.
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| ethnography | The study of human cultures through firsthand observation.
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| technology | The combination of knowledge and manufacturing techniques that enable people to convert raw materials into finished products.
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| economy | The management and organization of the affairs of a group, community, or establishment to ensure their survival and productivity.
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| organization | The arrangements between individuals and groups in human society that structure relationships and activities.
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| egalitarian | A term that refers to societies lacking clearly defined status differences between individuals, except for those due to sex, age, or skill.
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| rank | A relationship of inequality between members of society in which status is determined by kinship relations of birth order and lineage.
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| class | A relationship of inequality between members of society in which status is determined by membership in a level or class.
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| craft specialists (or craft specialization) | Individuals involved in part- or full-time activities devoted to the production of a specific class of goods, often highly valued.
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| hierarchical | A term referring to societies that have a graded order of inequality in ranks, statuses, or decision makers.
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| ideology | A conceptual framework by which people structure their ideas about the order of the universe, their place in that universe, and their relationships among themselves and with objects and other forms of life around them.
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| cosmology | The worldview of a group or society, encompassing their understanding of the universe, their origins and existence, and nature.
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| pictograph | A written or painted symbol that more or less portrays the represented object.
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| petroglyph | A drawing that has been carved into rock.
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| shaman | An anthropological term for a spiritualist, curer, or seer.
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| sodality | An alliance or association among some members of a society, often based on age and sex, with a specific function.
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