Editing Terrazzo (section)

==History==
===Terrazzo proper===
Although the history of terrazzo can be traced back to the ancient [[mosaic]]s of Egypt, its more recent predecessors come from Italy. The form of terrazzo used today derives partly from the 18th century ''pavimento alla Veneziana'' ([[Venice|Venetian]] pavement) and the cheaper ''seminato.'' ''Pavimento alla Veneziana'' had workers place marble fragments next to each other in a mortar base. Terrazzo is also related to the technique ''seminato'' for which workers tossed larger marble chips into the cement that was then ground and polished. Together, these methods create the generic form of terrazzo that involves pieces of stone that are bonded to a cement bed. Terrazzo was first introduced in the United States in the late 1890s, but did not achieve popularity until the 1920s.<ref name=":03">{{cite book|title=Twentieth Century Materials: History and Conservation|last1=Johnson|first1=Walter|date=1995|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=New York|page=203}}</ref> Until then it was hand polished with a long handled tool called a ''galera''.<ref name=":03" /> Due to its likelihood of cracking, terrazzo was used at a small scale in comparison to the large expanses we see today. Two inventions resulted in its rise in popularity: divider strips and the electric grinding machine. The invention of divider strips by L. Del Turco and Bros. in 1924 contained the cracking of terrazzo by allowing the material greater space to expand and shrink after installation. This invention made terrazzo a durable and reliable material in addition to allowing for further design work within the floor.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |url=https://sds-me.com/cement-terrazzo/ |title=Cement Terrazzo |date=27 March 2024}}</ref> Installers use the dividing strips as guides when they work with different colored terrazzo. Additionally, the electric grinding machine and mechanization of the production process cut down on costs and installation time, making terrazzo an affordable flooring option.

[[Art Deco]] and [[Streamline Moderne|Moderne]] styles from the 1920s to 1940s favored terrazzo with the dividers allowing for straight or curved lines that increased the decorative potential.<ref name=":22">{{cite book|title=Twentieth Century Materials: History and Conservation|last1=Jester|first1=Thomas|date=1995|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=New York|page=204}}</ref> The popularity of terrazzo led to an increase in installers in the 1920s. The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Organization was formed in 1931 to further professionalize the practice of terrazzo installation.<ref name=":32">{{cite book|title=Twentieth Century Materials: History and Conservation|last1=Jester|first1=Thomas|date=1995|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=New York|page=205}}</ref> One of the best-known examples of terrazzo is the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. Created in 1958, the walk honors celebrities in the form of a terrazzo star that displays their name.<ref name=":42">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/|title=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce}}</ref>

===Archaeological use of the term===
Archaeologists have adopted the term ''terrazzo'' to describe the floors of early [[Neolithic]] buildings ([[PPNA]] and [[PPNB]], ca. 9,000–8,000 BC) in [[Western Asia]] constructed of burnt [[Lime (mineral)|lime]] and clay, colored red with [[ochre]] and polished. The embedded crushed limestone gives it a slightly mottled appearance. The use of fire to produce burnt lime, which was also used for the [[hafting]] of implements, predates production of fired pottery by almost a thousand years.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} In the early Neolithic settlement of [[Çayönü]] in eastern [[Turkey]] about {{convert|90|m2|abbr=on}} of terrazzo floors have been uncovered. The floors of the PPN B settlement of [[Nevalı Çori]] measure about {{convert|80|m2|abbr=on}}. They are {{convert|15|cm|abbr=on}} thick, and contain about 10–15% lime.

These floors are almost impenetrable to moisture and very durable, but their construction involved a high input of energy. Gourdin and Kingery (1975) estimate that the production of any given amount of lime requires about five times that amount of wood.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gourdin |first1=W. H. |last2=Kingery |first2=W. D. |title=The Beginnings of Pyrotechnology: Neolithic and Egyptian Lime Plaster |journal=Journal of Field Archaeology |volume=2 |issue=1–2 |pages=133–150 |doi=10.1179/009346975791491277 |year=1975 }}</ref>{{clarify|Five times what?|date=June 2016}} Recent experiments by Affonso and Pernicka<ref>{{cite book |last1=Affonso |first1=Maria Thais Crepaldi |last2=Pernicka |first2=Ernst |chapter=Neolithic Lime Plasters and Pozzolanic Reactions: Are They Occasional Occurrences? |editor1-first=Rainer Michael |editor1-last=Boehmer |editor2-first=Joseph |editor2-last=Maran |title=Lux orientis: Archäologie Zwischen Asien und Europa. Festschrift für Harald Hauptmann zum 65. Geburtstag |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=ZWW8UfiFE8PD0gGRxIHwCg |access-date=15 June 2013 |series=Internationale Archäologie: Studia honoraria Volume 12 |year=2001 |publisher=Verlag Marie Leidorf |location=Rahden/Westfallen, Germany |isbn=9783896463920 |oclc=646779465 |pages=9–13}}</ref> have shown that only twice the amount is needed, but that would still amount to 4.5 metric tonnes of dry wood for the floors in Çayönü. Other sites with terrazzo floors include Nevalı Çori, [[Göbekli Tepe]], [[Tell es-Sultan|Jericho]], and [[Kastros]] ([[history of Cyprus|Cyprus]]).