What is a matrix in archaeology terms?

What is a matrix in archaeology terms? Matrix – The physical material (often dirt) in which archaeological objects are located. Why is matrix important in archaeology? A Harris Matrix is a tool that archaeologists use

What is a matrix in archaeology terms?

Matrix – The physical material (often dirt) in which archaeological objects are located.

Why is matrix important in archaeology?

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 context in archaeology?

Context: the position of an archaeological find in time and space, established by measuring and assessing its association, matrix and provenience. Context includes and assessment of how an archaeological find got there and what has happened to it since it was buried in the ground.

Why is archeological matrix important in archeological research?

The stratigraphic relationships that are documented as a principal part of the record of the excavation form a fundamental part of the overall site record and underpin the relationships between the site’s other recorded individual archaeological components.

Why is it called 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.

What is context and why is it important archaeology?

Context is a very, very important concept in archaeology. Unfortunately, it is also one that most people are not very familiar with. Context is the place where an artifact is found, Not just the place but the type of soil, the site type, and what the artifact was found with or in relation to.

Why do we need context in archaeology?

Once excavation has taken place, the context of an artifact is preserved only in these documents. Context is extremely important to the archaeologist; it is, in fact, what the discipline of archaeology is based on. It gives artifacts their legal authenticity and archaeological significance (Ford 1977, 14).

What is context in archaeology and why is it so important?

An important concept in archaeology and one that isn’t given a lot of public attention until things go awry is that of context. Context, to an archaeologist, means the place where an artifact is found. Not just the place, but the soil, the site type, the layer the artifact came from, what else was in that layer.

Why is context in archaeology important?

Context is the place where an artifact is found, Not just the place but the type of soil, the site type, and what the artifact was found with or in relation to. The object itself can give us some information, but most of the information that archaeologists gather from a site comes from the context of those objects.