A laboratory room dedicated to the examination of morphology, which is a branch in biology and medicine that studies the form and structure of organisms. In medicine, morphology applies in particular to the study of internal body organs, focusing on their shape, size, and structure, rather than their function.
A room, usually in a hospital, where the bodies of deceased people are kept refrigerated until they are taken to be buried or cremated. Hospital morgues also hold dead bodies that require identification or that await autopsies.
Also referenced as a meal stone by Hillerman, a metate is a slab of rock with either a concave or flat surface that is used for manually grinding grain, ochre, or other plant and mineral products. The mealing of grain, seeds, or sometimes even coffee on a metate is done using a mano, which is a smaller stone that is pressed back-and-forth horizontally or in a circular motion against the surface of the stone slab. The term metate comes from the word metatl, which is a term used in Mexico by indigenous peoples to describe these artifacts. Additionally, the term mano comes from the Spanish word for “hand.” Through both archaeological excavations and modern ethnography, it is known that metates have been in continuous use for thousands of years.
In North America, metates were already an important tool used by indigenous people prior to the introduction of corn from Mesoamerica. Metates first appear in the American Southwest during the Early Archaic Period (8,500 BP – 5,500 BP) and mark the transition from Paleoindian Period to the Archaic Period. Dubbed “site furniture” by former UNM professor of anthropology, Lewis Binford, these grinding implements were often left behind, due to their size and weight, in even the most transitory processing camps. Upon the introduction and spread of domesticated corn, the metates became larger and more trough-like, their deep basins allowing for the mass processing of maize. Metates became a common household tool, especially in Mexico and what is now the Southwestern U.S., where it was primarily the women's responsibility to grind corn into coarse meal for making tortillas, small unleavened pieces of bread, which are a staple food in the region. In modern archaeology, phytolith, pollen, and macro-botanical analysis can be conducted using the plant and mineral residue on metates to reconstruct prehistoric diets.
A law enforcement attendant who monitors street parking or parking lots, and issues tickets and fines for vehicles that violate parking regulations. The term refers to both male and female attendants.
A type of rifle that is less than 26 inches in overall length, or that has a barrel shorter than 16 inches. This weapon is fired from the shoulder. A short-barreled rifle can be made by shortening a longer weapon or adding a shoulder stock to a short-barreled handgun. These firearms must be registered and are subject to transfer taxes.
The component of a modern ammunition cartridge that is fired from a weapon. Before the invention of firearms, bullets were made of clay or stone and thrown with slings. Modern bullets are made of metal and are the component of the ammunition cartridge that is ejected from the weapon. The bullet hits the target, causing the damage of the gunshot. Bullet measurements are given in caliber (diameter in hundredths of an inch).
The hollow, cylindrical portion of a gun through which bullets or shot are discharged. Gun barrels vary in length; the length affects the volume, accuracy, and velocity of the shot, as well as the ease of handling of the firearm itself. Depending on the type of gun, it may be loaded from the front or rear of the barrel.
Large nuts, or shaped circular metal hubs, with holes in the middle that tighten over a metal bolt in order to secure two separate objects together, for example a tire onto an axle.
A hand tool with a hexagonal socket that fits around a lug nut. Often part of a car kit, especially one put together for changing tires.
A shaft thatholds a vehicle's wheels and around which they revolve. In most cars there are two axles, one for the front wheels and one for the back wheels. However, axles are a component of any wheeled vehicle including wagons, trains, and semi-trucks.