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(Terms in italics are defined elsewhere in the glossary)

half-life The time taken for half the quantity of a radioactive isotope in a sample to decay (see also radioactive decay ). (Chapter 4)

hand-axe A Paleolithic stone tool usually made by modifying (chipping or flaking) a natural pebble. (Introduction & Chapter 8)

haplotype A specific combination of alleles within a gene cluster. (Chapters 5 & 11)

historical archaeology The archaeological study of historically documented cultures. In North America, research is directed at colonial and post-colonial settlement, analogous to the study of medieval and post-medieval archaeology in Europe. (Introduction & Chapter 3)

historical particularism A detailed descriptive approach to anthropology associated with Franz Boas and his students, and designed as an alternative to the broad generalizing approach favored by anthropologists such as Morgan and Tylor. (Chapter 1)

historiographic approach A form of explanation based primarily on traditional descriptive historical frameworks. (Chapter 12)

hoards Deliberately buried groups of valuables or prized possessions, often in times of conflict or war, and which, for one reason or another, have not been reclaimed. Metal hoards are a primary source of evidence for the European Bronze Age. (Chapters 2 & 10)

holism Theoretical approach which, when applied to human societies, sees change as the product of large-scale environmental, economic, and social forces with the assumption that what individual humans wish, desire, believe, or will is not a significant factor. (Chapter 12)

homeostasis A term used in systems thinking to describe the action of negative feedback processes in maintaining the system at a constant equilibrium state. (Chapter 12)

hunter-gatherers A collective term for the members of small-scale mobile or semi-sedentary societies, whose subsistence is mainly focused on hunting game and gathering wild plants and fruits; organizational structure is based on bands with strong kinship ties. (Introduction)

hypothetico-deductive explanation A form of explanation based on the formulation of hypotheses and the establishment from them by deduction of consequences which can then be tested against the archaeological data .