Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Göbekli Tepe, Neolithic site in SE Turkey, c. 9 mi (15 km) NE of Şanlıurfa, that dates to c.11,000 b.c. or earlier. Although previously known, it was first recognized as a Neolithic site in 1994 by...

(Encyclopedia) Stonehenge stōnˈhĕnjˌ [key], group of standing stones on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, S England. Preeminent among megalithic monuments in the British Isles, it is similar to an older and larger mon...

(Encyclopedia) terra-cotta tĕrˈə kŏtˈə [key] [Ital.,=baked earth], form of hard-baked pottery, widely used in the decorative arts, especially as an architectural material, either in its natural red-brown color...

(Encyclopedia) Iron Age, period in the development of industry that begins with the general use of iron and continues into modern times. In Asia, Egypt, and Europe it was preceded by the Bronze Age. It did not begin...

(Encyclopedia) Neolithic period or New Stone Age. The term neolithic is used, especially in archaeology and anthropology, to designate a stage of cultural evolution or technological development characterized by the ...

(Encyclopedia) Islamic art and architecture, works of art and architecture created in countries where Islam has been dominant and embodying Muslim precepts in its themes. Among the ceramic types are unglazed wares...

(Encyclopedia) Champollion, Jean François –fēzhäkˈ [key], 1778–1867, was an archaeologist and paleographer, a professor of Greek at Grenoble, and a curator of manuscripts at the Bibliothèque nationale. He a...

(Encyclopedia) Leibovitz, Annie lēbˈəvĭts [key], 1949–, American photographer, b. Waterbury, Conn., as Anna-Lou Leibovitz. A celebrated portrait photographer, she began contributing photographs to Rolling Ston...

(Encyclopedia) millet, common name for several species of grasses cultivated mainly for cereals in the Eastern Hemisphere and for forage and hay in North America. The principal varieties are the foxtail, pearl, and ...

(Encyclopedia) Parsis or Parsees both: pärˈsēz, pärsēzˈ [key], religious community of India, practicing Zoroastrianism. The Parsis (numbering about 75,000) are concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, e...