Definitions Useful for Ancient History

Definitions to know for Ancient History
Palaeontology- The branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants
Pumice- A very light and porous volcanic rock formed when a gas-rich froth of glassy lava solidifies rapidly
Source- A source is a piece of material used as ‘evidence’ when focusing on a particular time period, event or moment in history
Primary source- Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period...
Secondary source- A secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere
Source analysis- Critical examination of one or more pieces of evidence (a source) assessing it’s function and other features like usefulness to area of study and its overall reliability
Pithoi- Pithos (plural pithoi) is the ancient Greek word for a large storage jar of a characteristic shape
Archaeological- The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts
Prehistory- The period of time before written records
Relative dating- Relative dating is the science determining the relative order of past events, without necessarily determining their absolute age...
Absolute dating- Absolute dating is the process of determining an approximate age for an archaeological or paleontological site or artefact...
Thera (Santorini) -A Greek Island in the southern Cyclades. Remains of an ancient Minoan civilization were preserved after a violent volcanic eruption
Fresco- Painting done rapidly in watercolour on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colours penetrate the plaster and become fixed
Atlantis- A legendary island, beautiful and prosperous, which sank into sea
Agora- A public open space used for assemblies and markets
Caldera- A large volcanic crater, typically formed by major eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano
Artefacts- Natural or human