S salines- natural deposits of salt scant- not enough or barely enough scourge- a cause of injury like a whip, or great suffering scribes- people who write down or copy letters and semi-nomadic- related to people who move in search of food but who have a base camp shamans- a religious leader who uses magic to try to control events sherds- a small piece usually of pottery shunned- kept away from or avoided on purpose sickle- a tool with a sharp, curved blade used to cut grass or grain site- a place or location of something skimmed- to remove film from the surface of a liquid sophisticated- highly complicated or complex, worldly-wise specimens- a sample of something that shows what a whole group is like spectacular- very unusual or eye-catching appearance sporadic- taking place infrequently or not often spruce- evergreen trees of the pine family with dense cover of leaves steppes- large, level treeless plain found in Asia stimulus- something that causes activity stockaded- protected by a line of posts set in the ground stoppers- something used to close the opening of a bottle subcontinent- a land of great size but smaller than any of the usually recognized continents summits- the highest points symbiotic- living together by organisms who are not alike but get benefits form the relationship synthesize- to put together different parts to produce a whole and new result