webref – Page 21 – WebRef.org

cotype

Cotype is a term used in taxonomy and classification (especially in botany, zoology, and paleontology) to describe a type specimen designation. It has a specific historical meaning in scientific nomenclature, though its usage has shifted over time.

🌍 Definition

Cotype (Taxonomy): Originally referred to any of the specimens cited in the original description of a new species when no single holotype was designated.
Modern Usage: The term has largely been replaced by syntype under the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) and International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN).

🔑 Characteristics

Historical Term: Used in older taxonomic literature before standardization of type specimen terminology.
Multiple Specimens: A cotype set could include several specimens used collectively to define a species.
Superseded by “Syntype”: Today, the correct term for multiple specimens cited without a holotype is syntype.
Designation of Lectotype: Later, one specimen from the cotype/syntype series may be chosen as the lectotype to serve as the single name-bearing type.

📚 Scientific Significance

Taxonomic Stability: Type specimens anchor species names to physical examples.
Historical Records: Many museum collections still label specimens as “cotypes,” reflecting older practices.
Clarification Needed: Modern taxonomists often reinterpret cotype labels as syntypes to align with current codes.

🛠 Examples

Botany: A plant species described in the 19th century without a holotype may have several “cotypes” preserved in herbaria.
Zoology: Fossil specimens described collectively as cotypes in early paleontology are now treated as syntypes.
Museums: Collections often retain “cotype” labels for historical accuracy, even though the modern term is syntype.

✨ Summary

Cotype is an older taxonomic term for specimens used to define a species when no holotype was designated. Today, the correct term is syntype, with one specimen potentially later chosen as a lectotype.

corvée

Corvée is a term used in economic history, anthropology, and archaeology to describe a system of unpaid, forced labor imposed by states or ruling authorities on their subjects, often as a form of taxation or civic duty. Instead of paying money, people contributed labor for public works, military service, or elite households.

🌍 Definition

Corvée: A labor obligation required by the state or ruling elite, typically unpaid and compulsory.
Origin: From the French corvée (“a day’s work”), historically applied to feudal labor duties.
Core Idea: Labor as taxation—subjects “paid” their dues through work rather than currency.

🔑 Characteristics

Compulsory: Mandated by rulers, chiefs, or colonial authorities.
Unpaid: Workers received little or no compensation, though sometimes food or protection.
Public Works: Often used for building roads, fortifications, irrigation canals, temples, or palaces.
Seasonal: Typically imposed during agricultural off-seasons to avoid disrupting food production.
Social Control: Reinforced hierarchy and dependence on ruling elites.

📚 Anthropological & Historical Significance

Ancient States:
- Egypt: Corvée labor built pyramids, canals, and temples.
- Mesopotamia: Subjects worked on irrigation systems and city walls.
Medieval Europe: Peasants owed corvée labor to feudal lords for road building or harvest support.
Colonial Contexts: European empires imposed corvée on colonized populations for plantations, mines, and infrastructure.
Anthropology of Labor: Corvée illustrates how states extract surplus labor and maintain authority.

🛠 Examples

Egyptian Pyramids: Built largely by corvée laborers conscripted seasonally.
French Ancien Régime: Peasants required to maintain roads through corvée obligations.
Colonial Africa: Corvée labor imposed for railway and road construction.
Inca Empire: The mit’a system required subjects to provide labor for state projects.

✨ Summary

Corvée is a system of forced, unpaid labor used historically as a form of taxation and social control. It played a central role in building monumental architecture, infrastructure, and sustaining state power across ancient, medieval, and colonial societies.

cortical spall

A cortical spall is a term from lithic technology and archaeology referring to a flake or fragment struck from the cortex (outer weathered surface) of a stone core during tool-making. It is an important byproduct in the study of stone tool production, as it helps archaeologists reconstruct reduction sequences and raw material use.

🌍 Definition

Cortical Spall: A small flake or chip removed from the cortex (the rough, outer rind of a stone nodule).
Cortex: The weathered, outer surface of raw stone material, often chalky or rough compared to the fresh interior.
Spall: A fragment detached by percussion or pressure.

🔑 Characteristics

Surface: Retains cortex on one or more faces.
Size: Usually small, irregular flakes compared to larger prepared flakes.
Production Stage: Common in the early stages of core reduction, when toolmakers remove cortex to expose fresh stone.
Diagnostic Value: Presence of cortical spalls indicates initial preparation of raw material.

📚 Archaeological Significance

Reduction Sequence Analysis: Cortical spalls help identify early stages of tool production.
Raw Material Procurement: Show how toolmakers processed nodules or cobbles to access workable stone.
Site Activity: Concentrations of cortical spalls at archaeological sites suggest areas of initial core preparation.
Technological Insight: Distinguishes between early waste flakes and later, more standardized tool blanks.

🛠 Examples

Oldowan Assemblages: Cortical spalls appear as early flakes struck to open cobbles for tool production.
Acheulean Sites: Large handaxe production often begins with removal of cortical spalls to shape the core.
Experimental Archaeology: Modern knappers produce cortical spalls when testing raw nodules, replicating prehistoric techniques.

✨ Summary

A cortical spall is a small flake removed from the cortex of a stone core during tool-making. It is a key indicator of the initial stages of lithic reduction, helping archaeologists reconstruct technological strategies and raw material use.

corporateness

Corporateness is an anthropological and sociological concept that refers to the quality of a social group acting as a single, enduring entity with collective rights, responsibilities, and identity. It is most often discussed in kinship studies, lineage systems, and organizational theory.

🌍 Definition

Corporateness: The property of a group (often kin-based) functioning as a corporate body, rather than as a loose association of individuals.
Core Idea: The group itself is treated as a “person” or entity, with continuity across generations, ownership of resources, and collective obligations.

🔑 Characteristics

Collective Identity: Members see themselves as part of a larger, enduring unit.
Resource Ownership: Land, property, or ritual rights are held by the group, not individuals.
Continuity: The group persists beyond the lifespan of individual members.
Authority Structure: Leadership or decision-making is exercised on behalf of the group.
Legal & Ritual Recognition: Corporateness is often formalized in law, ritual, or custom.

📚 Anthropological Significance

Kinship Systems: Corporateness is central to lineage and clan organization, where descent groups act as corporate entities.
Inheritance & Succession: Property and titles are passed through the group, ensuring continuity.
Conflict & Compensation: The group bears responsibility for disputes, debts, or ritual obligations.
Colonial Encounters: Corporateness often clashed with Western notions of individual property rights.
Comparative Studies: Highlights differences between collectivist and individualist social systems.

🛠 Examples

African Lineages: Land held corporately by descent groups, managed by elders.
Chinese Lineage Associations: Corporateness expressed in ancestral halls, property management, and ritual obligations.
Iroquois Clans: Corporateness seen in collective rights to names, rituals, and land.
Modern Corporations: Legal entities with rights and responsibilities separate from individual shareholders.

✨ Summary

Corporateness is the defining quality of a group acting as a corporate entity—enduring across generations, holding collective rights, and functioning as a single social “person.” It is a cornerstone concept in kinship anthropology and organizational theory, bridging traditional lineage systems with modern corporate structures.

corporate ownership control

Corporate ownership and control is a concept in economics, business, and anthropology that describes how rights to property, resources, or enterprises are collectively held and managed by a corporate body rather than individuals. It emphasizes the distinction between who owns assets and who controls their use or management.

🌍 Definition

Corporate Ownership: Assets (land, enterprises, resources) are owned collectively by a group, lineage, clan, or corporation rather than by individuals.
Control: The authority to make decisions about the use, management, and distribution of those assets.
Core Idea: Ownership and control may overlap, but often they are separated—owners may delegate control to managers, elders, or boards.

🔑 Characteristics

Collective Rights: Property belongs to the group as a whole, not to individual members.
Enduring Entity: The group persists across generations, maintaining ownership even as individuals change.
Decision-Making: Control is exercised by leaders, councils, or managers acting on behalf of the group.
Separation of Functions: Owners may not directly manage; control can be delegated.
Legal Recognition: In modern contexts, corporations are legal persons that own property and exercise control through governance structures.

📚 Anthropological & Archaeological Significance

Kinship Systems: Many societies organize land and resources under corporate kin groups, where ownership is collective and control lies with elders or lineage heads.
Inheritance & Succession: Corporate ownership ensures continuity of property across generations, avoiding fragmentation.
Colonial Encounters: Tensions often arose when colonial law emphasized individual ownership over corporate kin-based control.
World-Systems & Economics: Corporate ownership/control is central to understanding modern capitalism, where shareholders own but managers control.

🛠 Examples

Lineage Landholding (Africa, Asia, Pacific): Land owned by the lineage, controlled by elders for farming and ritual use.
Iroquois Clans (North America): Corporate ownership of names, rituals, and property, controlled by clan mothers and councils.
Modern Corporations: Shareholders own stock (ownership), while executives and boards exercise control over operations.
Chinese Lineage Associations: Corporate ownership of ancestral halls and property, controlled by lineage leaders.

✨ Summary

Corporate ownership and control refers to the collective holding of property or enterprises by a group, with authority exercised through designated leaders or managers. It highlights the distinction between ownership (rights) and control (decision-making power), a principle that applies both to kin-based societies and modern corporations.

corporate kin group

A corporate kin group is a key concept in anthropology and kinship studies, referring to a social group organized around kinship ties that collectively owns, manages, or controls resources, rights, and responsibilities. Unlike temporary or loosely defined kin associations, corporate kin groups are enduring, structured, and often central to social, economic, and political life.

🌍 Definition

Corporate Kin Group: A group of relatives who act as a single unit in relation to property, inheritance, ritual, or social obligations.
Core Idea: The group itself—not just individuals—holds rights and responsibilities, making it a “corporate” entity.

🔑 Characteristics

Collective Ownership: Land, herds, or other resources are held by the group rather than individuals.
Enduring Membership: Membership is defined by kinship (descent, lineage, clan) and persists across generations.
Shared Responsibility: Group members collectively manage rituals, marriages, disputes, and economic activities.
Legal & Social Recognition: Often recognized by wider society as a corporate body with rights and obligations.
Boundaries: Membership is clearly defined (e.g., descent from a common ancestor).

📚 Anthropological Significance

Lineage & Clan Systems: Corporate kin groups are central in societies with strong descent-based organization.
Inheritance & Succession: Property and titles pass through the group rather than being individually owned.
Conflict Resolution: Disputes are handled collectively, with the group responsible for compensation or defense.
Ritual & Identity: Corporate kin groups often maintain shrines, ancestral rituals, or collective ceremonies.
Comparative Studies: Highlight differences between individualistic societies and collectivist kin-based systems.

🛠 Examples

African Lineages: Among the Igbo or Nuer, lineages act as corporate kin groups managing land and cattle.
Chinese Lineage Associations: Corporate kin groups maintain ancestral halls and manage property for descendants.
Native American Clans: Clans among the Iroquois hold collective rights to names, rituals, and land.
Pacific Islander Kin Groups: Extended descent groups manage fishing rights and agricultural land.

✨ Summary

A corporate kin group is a kin-based social unit that collectively holds rights, resources, and responsibilities, functioning as a corporate entity across generations. It is foundational in many societies for organizing property, inheritance, ritual, and identity.

corner notched

A corner-notched point (or corner-notched tool) is a distinctive type of projectile point in lithic technology, defined by notches placed at the basal corners of the artifact. These notches create barbs and a stem, allowing the point to be securely hafted to a shaft or handle.

🌍 Definition

Corner-Notched Point: A stone projectile point with notches cut into the corners of its base.
Function: The notches provide a secure hafting mechanism, binding the point to a spear, dart, or arrow shaft.
Diagnostic Feature: The angled notches distinguish it from side-notched or basal-notched points.

🔑 Characteristics

Notch Placement: At the basal corners, angled upward toward the blade.
Shape: Produces barbed shoulders and a narrowed stem.
Variation: Depth and angle of notches vary by cultural tradition.
Hafting Efficiency: Strong attachment, reducing slippage during use.

📚 Archaeological Significance

Cultural Typology: Corner-notched points are diagnostic of specific prehistoric cultures, especially in North America.
Chronology: Common in the Late Archaic to Woodland periods, though regional variants appear earlier.
Functional Insight: Indicates hunting strategies, weapon design, and technological adaptation.
Regional Styles: Examples include the Elko Corner Notch (Great Basin) and Cottonwood Corner Notch (California/Nevada).

🛠 Examples

Elko Corner Notch (~1500–500 BCE, Great Basin): Broad blade, deep corner notches, used for darts.
Cottonwood Corner Notch (California/Nevada): Smaller triangular form, shallow notches, often arrow points.
Woodland Period Points (Eastern US): Corner-notched styles used for both spears and arrows.

✨ Summary

A corner-notched point is a hafting style in lithic technology where notches are cut into the basal corners of a projectile point, creating barbs and stems for secure attachment. These points are culturally diagnostic and provide insight into prehistoric hunting and tool-making traditions.

corner notch

A corner notch is a specific type of projectile point or stone tool hafting style in lithic technology, defined by notches placed at the corners of the artifact’s base. These notches allow the point to be securely attached (hafted) to a shaft or handle.

🌍 Definition

Corner Notch: A projectile point or tool with notches cut into the corners of its base, creating barbs and a stem for hafting.
Function: The notches help bind the point to a wooden shaft using sinew, fiber, or resin.

🔑 Characteristics

Location of Notches: At the basal corners, angled upward toward the blade.
Shape: Produces barbed shoulders and a narrowed stem.
Variation: Can be shallow or deep depending on cultural tradition and intended use.
Hafting Efficiency: Provides strong attachment and prevents slippage during use.

📚 Archaeological Significance

Cultural Typology: Corner-notched points are diagnostic of certain prehistoric cultures, especially in North America.
Chronology: Often associated with Late Archaic and Woodland periods, though variations appear earlier.
Functional Insight: Indicates hunting practices, weapon design, and technological adaptation.
Regional Styles: Different Indigenous groups developed distinctive corner-notched forms (e.g., Elko Corner Notch, Cottonwood Corner Notch).

🛠 Examples

Elko Corner Notch (Great Basin): Broad blade, deep corner notches, dating to ~1500–500 BCE.
Cottonwood Corner Notch (California/Nevada): Smaller, triangular form with shallow corner notches, often used for arrow points.
Woodland Period Points (Eastern US): Corner-notched styles used for both spears and arrows.

✨ Summary

A corner notch is a hafting style in lithic technology where notches are cut into the basal corners of a projectile point, creating barbs and stems for secure attachment. These points are culturally diagnostic and provide insight into prehistoric hunting and tool-making traditions.

core tool

A core tool is a type of prehistoric stone tool made directly from a core (the central mass of raw material, usually flint, chert, or obsidian) rather than from flakes struck off the core. These tools represent some of the earliest and most fundamental implements in human technological history.

🌍 Definition

Core Tool: A stone tool fashioned by shaping the core itself into a usable implement, rather than using flakes removed from it.
Category: Part of the Lower Paleolithic toolkit, especially associated with early hominins like Homo erectus.

🔑 Characteristics

Manufacture: Made by striking large flakes off a stone core, then shaping the remaining mass into a tool.
Size & Weight: Typically larger and heavier than flake tools.
Forms:
- Hand axes (bifacially worked cores).
- Choppers (unifacially worked cores).
- Picks and cleavers.
Function: Used for cutting, chopping, scraping, and processing plant and animal materials.

📚 Archaeological Significance

Technological Stage: Represents early human reliance on simple but versatile tools.
Cultural Association: Common in the Acheulean industry (1.7 million–200,000 years ago).
Behavioral Insight: Shows planning and skill in shaping tools for specific tasks.
Comparative Value: Distinguishes early core-based technologies from later flake-based and blade-based industries.

🛠 Examples

Oldowan Choppers: Simple core tools with sharp edges, used by Homo habilis.
Acheulean Hand Axes: Symmetrical bifacial core tools, hallmark of Homo erectus and later hominins.
Cleavers: Large core tools with a straight cutting edge, used for butchering.

✨ Summary

Core tools are early stone implements made by shaping the core itself, central to Lower Paleolithic technology. They reveal the ingenuity of early humans in adapting raw materials into versatile tools for survival.

core area

Core area is a concept used in geography, ecology, anthropology, and archaeology to describe the central, most significant zone of a region, settlement, or system. It often represents the nucleus of activity, power, or preservation.

🌍 Definition

Core Area: The central zone of a landscape, settlement, or ecological system that holds primary importance—whether culturally, politically, economically, or environmentally.
Contrast: Distinguished from peripheral or marginal areas, which are less central or influential.

🔑 Contextual Uses

1. Geography & Human Settlement

The central district of a city or region where population density, economic activity, or political power is concentrated.
Example: The “core area” of Mesopotamian city-states contained temples, palaces, and administrative buildings.

2. Ecology & Conservation

In landscape ecology, a core area is the interior of a habitat patch, buffered from edge effects.
Example: The core area of a forest reserve supports species sensitive to disturbance.

3. Anthropology & Archaeology

Refers to the central zone of a cultural region or settlement where key institutions, monuments, or elite residences are located.
Example: The core area of Teotihuacan included the Pyramid of the Sun and Avenue of the Dead.

4. Political & Economic Systems

In world-systems theory, “core areas” are dominant regions controlling trade, technology, and capital, contrasted with peripheral areas.
Example: Industrialized nations as core areas in global economic networks.

📚 Significance

Cultural Identity: Core areas often house sacred or symbolic structures.
Power & Authority: They represent centers of political and economic control.
Preservation: In conservation, core areas are critical for biodiversity protection.
Comparative Studies: Archaeologists use the concept to distinguish central vs. peripheral zones in settlement analysis.

🛠 Examples

Urban Archaeology: The core area of ancient Rome included the Forum and Palatine Hill.
Ecology: Yellowstone National Park’s designated core areas protect grizzly bear habitats.
World-Systems: Renaissance Italy as a core area of art and commerce in Europe.

In short: A core area is the central, most influential zone of a system—whether cultural, ecological, or political—serving as the nucleus of activity and meaning.

core

The term core has multiple meanings across disciplines—archaeology, geology, anthropology, and materials science. At its root, it refers to the central or essential part of something, but in technical contexts it carries more precise definitions.

🌍 General Definition

Core: The innermost, central, or most fundamental part of an object, structure, or concept.
Scope: Used in physical sciences (geology, physics), archaeology (lithic technology), and cultural studies (core values, core groups).

🔑 Contextual Uses

1. Archaeology (Lithic Technology)

Core: A piece of stone from which flakes or blades are struck to make tools.
Significance:
- Shows technological strategies of prehistoric peoples.
- Core reduction sequences reveal efficiency and skill.
Example: Levallois cores in the Middle Paleolithic, carefully prepared to produce standardized flakes.

2. Geology & Earth Sciences

Core: The innermost layer of the Earth, composed of iron and nickel.
- Inner Core: Solid, extremely hot, dense.
- Outer Core: Liquid, generates Earth’s magnetic field.
Core Samples: Cylindrical sections drilled from soil, rock, or ice to study stratigraphy, climate, or resource deposits.

3. Anthropology & Sociology

Core Group: The central, most influential members of a society or community.
Core Values: Fundamental beliefs guiding cultural identity and social behavior.

4. Materials Science & Engineering

Core: The central material in a composite structure, often providing strength or stability.
Example: Metal core in wires, foam core in construction panels.

5. General Usage

Core of an Idea: The essential principle or foundation.
Core Body: The torso, central to human biomechanics.

📚 Anthropological & Archaeological Significance

Lithic Cores: Reveal technological traditions and cultural transmission.
Core Samples: Provide paleoclimate data, helping reconstruct ancient environments.
Core Values: Anchor cultural identity and social cohesion.

🛠 Examples

Archaeology: A flint core showing sequential flake removals.
Geology: Ice cores from Antarctica revealing 800,000 years of climate history.
Anthropology: Core kinship groups maintaining lineage continuity.
Engineering: A steel core in reinforced concrete.

In short: Core refers to the central or essential part of a system—whether it’s a stone tool nucleus, Earth’s inner structure, cultural values, or engineered materials.

coprolites

Coprolites are fossilized feces—preserved remains of animal or human excrement that have undergone mineralization over time. They are a unique type of trace fossil, providing direct evidence of diet, digestion, and ecological interactions in the past.

🌍 Definition

Coprolite: From the Greek kopros (“dung”) + lithos (“stone”), meaning “dung stone.”
Nature: Fossilized excrement, often replaced by minerals such as calcium phosphate, silica, or carbonate.
Category: Trace fossil (records biological activity rather than body structures).

🔑 Characteristics

Composition: Preserved organic matter, bone fragments, plant fibers, parasite eggs, or pollen.
Size Range: From tiny pellets to large masses (some dinosaur coprolites are over 40 cm long).
Preservation: Requires rapid burial and mineral-rich environments to fossilize.
Identification: Distinguished from other fossils by shape, texture, and inclusions (e.g., undigested food).

📚 Scientific Significance

Dietary Evidence: Reveals what ancient organisms ate (bones, seeds, shells, fibers).
Paleoecology: Provides insight into predator-prey relationships, food webs, and ecosystems.
Health & Pathology: Can contain parasite eggs, showing disease presence in ancient populations.
Cultural Archaeology: Human coprolites reveal subsistence practices, food preparation, and even medicinal plant use.

🛠 Examples

Dinosaur Coprolites: Contain bone fragments, confirming carnivorous diets.
Human Coprolites (Ancestral Pueblo sites, US Southwest): Reveal maize, beans, and wild plants in prehistoric diets.
Marine Coprolites: Show fish remains, indicating predator feeding habits.
Parasite Studies: Coprolites from ancient humans reveal hookworm and whipworm infections.

✨ Summary

Coprolites are fossilized feces that preserve direct evidence of diet, ecology, and health in ancient organisms. They are invaluable to archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists for reconstructing lifeways and ecosystems.