DelDOT's Cultural Resources -
Archaeology/Historic Preservation
Cultural Resources Glossary
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A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z References Ballclay - Fine white clay used for making tobacco pipes and marbles. Balloon Framing - A method of timber-frame construction used in the U.S.A. and Scandinavia: the studs or uprights run from sill to eaves, and the horizontal members are nailed to them. Baluster - A short post or pillar in a series supporting a rail or coping and thus forming a balustrade. Balustrade - A railing consisting of a handrail on baluster, sometimes on a base member and sometimes interrupted by piers, columns or posts. 2 An entire railing system including a top rail, its balusters, and sometimes a bottom rail. Band-level Organization - Small, confederations of family groups who subsist by hunting and gathering. Bands do not usually have a formal political organization, and their composition is often fluid, or seasonal. Bargeboard - A board which hangs from the projecting end of a roof, covering the gables, also known as a vergeboard. Basal - Reference to the base of a projectile point. Basalt - Fine-grained, dark-colored, volcanic rock rich in ferromagnesian minerals. Baseboard - A molding that conceals the joint between an interior wall and a floor. Base Camp - A prehistoric dwelling site for hunter-gatherers from which resource procurement forays are made. Bathymetric Recording Sonar - An electronic ranging instrument that measures and displays the vertical depth of water (bathymetry) from the sonar transducer (transmitter) by using pulses of high frequency sound and measuring the time elapsed until the echo is received. If equipped with a recording device, it is often called a recording bathymetric sonar. The word "sonar" is derived from "Sound Navigation And Ranging." Battering Tool - A stone tool used for flint knapping such as a hammerstone, or for food processing. Bay - A vertical division of the exterior or interior of a building marked not by walls but by fenestration or door openings. 2 The subdivision longitudinally of a building by piers, arches, girders, etc. Bay/Basin Feature - Also known as whale wallows, these shallow ponds, thought to have been formed during the end of the Pleistocene, represent a favored prehistoric settlement location. Bay Window - An angular or curved projection of a house front filled by fenestration. Bead Molding - A small cylindrical molding enriched with ornament resembling a string of beads. Bedload - The material carried in the bed of a stream - usually larger material, such as sand, gravel, and cobbles - that rolls, tumbles, or bounces along. Bellflower - Any of various plants of the genus Campanula, characteristically having blue, bell-shaped flowers. Bentware - The wooden rims for carriage wheels. BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) - "A federal bureau within the Department of the Treasury tasked with the design and manufacture of official US security documents including Federal Reserve Notes, identification cards, naturalization certificates, and other special security documents." (http://www.www.bep.treas.gov/2009) B-Horizon - A soil layer characterized by the accumulation of material leached downward from the A-Horizon above; also called zone of accumulation. Highly weathered B-horizons are often too ancient to contain prehistoric artifacts. BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) - "A federal management and regulatory bureau within the Department of the Interior (DOI) responsible for the administration and management of land held in trust by the United States for American Indian, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives." The BIA's mission is to: "...enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian Tribes, and Alaska Natives." (http://www.doi.gov/bia/2009) Biface - Flaked stone which has been worked on both faces (opposite sides). A biface may have been used as a cutting, scraping, chopping tool, a tool that was in the process of being manufactured, or as a projectile or knife at the tip of a spear or arrow. Bifacial Tool - An artifact with flakes removed from both surfaces along a single edge. Bifurcate - A projectile point from the Archaic Period (6500 B.C.); it is a small point with a notched base. Billet - A club like rod made of anything but stone (usually antler) that is used to remove flakes in the process of making stone tools. Bimodal - Having two separate statistical modes, or most frequent value in a set of data. Bioturbation - Disturbance to soils from root action. Bipolar - Lithic manufacturing technique of resting core on anvil and striking the core with a percussor; bipolar flakes typically exhibit sheared cones of force, diffuse bulbs of percussion, closely spaced ripple marks, and crushed and splintered platforms; bipolar cores are typically tabular in shape, exhibit heavy crushing and battering, and flake scars tend to be oriented along the long axis of the core. Bi-Polar Core Technology - Expedient technology for producing flakes using unprepared amorphous cores. The core is set on an anvil and randomly struck with a hammerstone or billet to produce flakes. Bi-Polar Percussion - Method of tool production in which the core is rested on an anvil and struck from above, resulting in the splitting or shattering of the core. Bipolar percussion produces blocky, often wedge-shaped debitage with crushed proximal and/or distal ends. Blade - Thin, parallel-sided flake that is at least twice as long as it is wide. BLM (Bureau of Land Management) - "A federal management bureau of the Department of the Interior responsible for the management and conservation of public surface acreage as well as subsurface mineral estate, and cultural resources within public land. These public lands make up more than 40 percent of all land managed by the Federal government." (http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM.html 2009) Bloomary Furnace - Type of iron works where bar iron was produced. Bloomeries needed little capital, but didn't produce pig iron, a more useful industrial iron. Blown-in-Mold - Process of glass contained manufacture in which glass was forced by means of air pressure from a blowpipe into a mold. This method was commonly used prior to the advent of machine-molded glass in the early twentieth century. Blt Horizon - The first B soil horizon below the A horizon. There may be several B horizon characterized by different sediments, color, or degree of weathering or illuviation. Board-and-Batten - A type of wall cladding for wood-frame houses; closely spaced, applied boards or sheets of plywood, the joints of which are covered by narrow strips of wood called battens. Bolection Molding - A molding used to cover the joint between two members with different surface levels. It projects beyond both surfaces. Boreal - The forest areas and tundras of the North Temperate Zone and Arctic region. Borrow Operations - Large-scale gravel or sand excavation, usually by means of heavy machinery, for use in construction. Box Cornice - A hollow cornice, built up of boards, moldings, shingles, etc. B.P. - Years before present, which has been standardized at A.D. 1950. Bracket - A supporting member (sometimes carved) projecting from the face of a wall. In American architecture it is frequently used for ornamental as well as structural purposes. Brackish - A freshwater/saltwater mix. Broadcloth - A densely textured woolen cloth with a plain or twill weave and a lustrous finish. Broad Glass - Also called cylinder glass; window panes formed from a flattened glass cylinder. Builder's Trench - Feature related to the construction of a foundation. Bulb of Force - Small swelling on the ventral surface at the proximal end of a flake, resulting from the conchoidal fracture of the stone core. The bulb is a characteristic of human alteration of stone, and therefore important in the identification of lithic artifacts. Bulkhead - A horizontal or sloping structure providing access to a cellar stairway or to an elevator shaft. Bull's Eye - A circular window or louver. Burgomaster - The chief magistrate of a town in certain European countries. Burial Vault - An arched structure, usually of stone, brick, or concrete used to encase a burial coffin. Butchery Waste - Bone thrown away during the butchering of the animal carcass; parts not used for food. Butted - To be joined at the ends. Butt Hinge - A hinge composed of plates attached to abutting surfaces of a door and door jamb and joined by a pin. |
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