Why do archeologists use Harris Matrix?
A Harris Matrix is a tool that archaeologists use to keep track of stratigraphy and stratigraphic units. By using the laws of stratigraphy, archaeologists create these logic diagrams to record the top-down sequence of stratigraphic deposits and help make sense of the information they contain.
What is a matrix in archaeology terms?
Matrix – The physical material (often dirt) in which archaeological objects are located.
Why is matrix important in archaeological research?
The matrix thus demonstrates the temporal relationship between any two units of archaeological stratification. While excavating, it is best practice to compile the area and site stratigraphic matrices during the progress of an excavation through reference to both the drawn and written record.
Why is it called a Harris Matrix?
It is called a ‘Harris’ or sometimes a ‘Harris-Winchester’ matrix because it was invented by the archaeologist Edward Harris, who at the time was working on excavations in Winchester, Hampshire.
Why is stratigraphy important in archaeology?
Stratigraphic studies of archaeological sites are designed to define objectively and categorize the sediments and soils, the contact units between them, and the amount of time they represent, as well as their relationship to the surrounding sediment history.
Why is it called Harris Matrix?
What is a provenience in archaeology?
A dictionary meaning of Provenience is “place of origin”. In the Parks Canada provenience system, it means the place of origin of an archaeological object, of a cluster of archaeological objects, of a feature or features, of a sample of soil, mortar, charcoal or other material.
What are the 5 principles of stratigraphy?
Which stratigraphic principle states that sedimentary rocks are deposited in layers perpendicular to the direction of gravity?
- Lateral continuity.
- Superposition.
- Faunal succession.
- Original horizontality.
- Cross-cutting relations.
What is difference between stratigraphy and stratification?
As nouns the difference between stratification and stratigraphy. is that stratification is the process leading to the formation or deposition of layers, especially of sedimentary rocks while stratigraphy is (geology) the study of rock layers and the layering process (stratification).
Why are stone tools important for reconstructing the human past?
Tools are important in differentiating humans from other animals, and stone tools can be preserved over millions of years. By studying stone tools, scientists have learned how past human species might have lived and behaved, and how early humans differed from chimpanzees.
Is Debitage an artifact?
Debitage, pronounced in English roughly DEB-ih-tahzhs, is an artifact type, the collective term used by archaeologists to refer to the sharp-edged waste material left over when a flintknapper creates a stone tool (that is, knaps flint).