WHAT IS THE DOLMEN ?

1. In antiquity (especially in France), a word for a megalithic tomb consisting of orthostats and capstone or for megalithic chamber tombs in general. This was usually a stone structure consisting of upright columns supporting a slab roof and known from Neolithic times. In English archaeological literature “dolmen” should be used only for tombs whose original plan cannot be determined or for tombs of simple unspecialized types which do not fit into the passage grave or gallery grave categories; it is also used for relatively small, closed megalithic chambers, such as the dysser of Scandinavia. The name was probably derived from the Cornish tolmen (“stone table”). 2. The enclosure for burial in a jar of the Yayoi period in Japan consisting of a single large stone slab supported on a ring of stones. 3. A megalithic stone burial feature in western China and the coastal Yellow Sea area, dating to the 1st millennium bc, of which there are three forms – raised table, low table, and unsupported capstone.

WHAT IS THE DOLIUM ?

A large Greek or Roman coarse earthenware vessel with a wide mouth and spherical form. It was used to store wine and oil; later, smaller vessels were produced. [culeus]

WHAT IS THE DOGU ?

A type of clay figurine, most often depicting a pregnant female, made in Japan during the Jomon period, c. 5th to 4th millennium to c. 250 bc. The function of these figurines is unknown, but it is generally believed that they were some kind of fertility symbol and they are reminiscent of the rigidly frontal fertility figures produced by other prehistoric cultures. Archaeological evidence suggests they were aids in childbirth as well as fertility symbols. They are also found in simulated burials, indicating some kind of ceremonial function. Fired at a low temperature, they often have crumbly surfaces and many are painted red.

WHAT IS THE DJED PILLAR ?

In Egypt, a widely found amulet of roughly cruciform style with at least three crossbars. It seems to have been a fetish from prehistoric times and came to represent the abstract concept of stability. Like the ankh, it was commonly used in friezes and painted inside the base of coffins.

WHAT IS THE DISCOIDAL NUCLEUS TECHNIQUE ?

A method of core knapping used during the Middle Paleolithic by which flaking was done until the core was too small to use. The Beaker People, in particular, made circular, oval, or oblong thin flakes of stone with this technique, which is very similar to the Levallois technique.