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(Terms in italics are defined elsewhere in the glossary)

LANDSAT See remote sensing . landscape archaeology The study of individual features including settlements seen as single components within the broader perspective of the patterning of human activity over a wide area. (Chapter 1)

lexicostatistics The study of linguistic divergence between two languages, based on changes in a list of common vocabulary terms and the sharing of common root words (see also glottochronology ). (Chapter 4)

lineage A group claiming descent from a common ancestor. (Chapter 5)

loess sediments Deposits formed of a yellowish dust of silt-sized particles blown by the wind and redeposited on land newly deglaciated, or on sheltered areas. (Chapter 6)