Browse by Title: P

A type of photography where light is used in combination with special paper to create instant photographs. The Polaroid camera was invented by Edwin H. Land, who…

Also known as the North Star, the Pole Star is actually three stars whose light merge to create a single bright glow, the brightest star of the constellation Ursa Minor…

Unless stated otherwise, Hillerman's use of "pollen" refers to yellow corn pollen (or tádídíín in Navajo), which is a sweet tasting, yellow-colored powder that is…

A ponderosa pine is a large coniferous evergreen tree, with long pine needles, that can grows over 70 feet in height. Ponderosa are found throughout the western United…

Porcupines are large herbivorous rodents with a coat of sharp spines, also known as quills. These quills are actually strands of hair coated with layers of keratin, a…

The largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon, the southernmost state in the Pacific Northwest region. Portland is situated close to the confluence of the Willamette and…

In Latin, the term literally means "after death." In a medical context, postmortem refers to a thorough examination of a dead body in order to determine the cause and…

A drum that is made by filling a ceramic pot with water and then covering it with a buckskin. A pot drum is played by hitting the stretched hide with a looped drumstick…

More commonly referred to as "pot sherd," pot shard is a colloquial term for ceramic sherds, common artifacts found in archaeological sites. Currently, archaeologists…

The Potawatomi tribe is a Native American group that originally resided in southwest Michigan and whose language is in the Algonquin family. The tribe worked under a…

A degraded and eroded spot in the road caused by the combination of standing water and the friction of passing vehicles. Potholes develop in areas where the engineering…

Jars, bowls, and other containers shaped out of ceramic material, such as earthenware (or clay), stoneware, and porcelain, which are subsequently fired, or super-heated…

The Hopi word for "witch," either male or female. The Hopi believe that witchcraft was involved in the earlier underworlds and played a role in the people's bad…

A mechanical tool used to fell trees or cut wood using a loop of chain that is driven around a bar by a motorized power head. The chain of a power saw is comprised of…

Belonging to the squirrel family of rodents, the prairie dog is a very social burrowing rodent who lives in colonies, called towns, that can include up to several…

Prayer meal is usually cornmeal, which is used by various Native American peoples in the Southwestern parts of the U.S. as a sacred offering to the spirits in a wide…

Prayer plumes are feathers that are attached to prayer sticks for a variety of rituals, ceremonies, and devotions specific to a number of pueblo and Southwestern tribes…

The sheer face of a cliff or mountain.

A large or powerful creature that preys on smaller and weaker creatures. The term typically refers to a carnivorous animal that hunts other animals for survival. Common…

To think about or plan in advance, signifying conscious intent.

A technique for shaping a stone edge by pressing, usually with a bone, from the blade edge in toward the "cheek," or the thicker part of the stone being sharpened. The…

An individual who is authorized to perform as a mediator between the people and a transcendent power. The priest's authority enables him or her to perform in both a…

Referring to the very beginning of earth or the first age of an event.

Traces or evidence in the form of fingerprints left behind at a crime scene.

A reference to an outline of, for example, a person's face, or of information. In the second example, the information provided can take the form of a description, a…