01
Front
What does archaeological stratigraphy reconstruct?
Back
Archaeological stratigraphy uses relationships among layers, surfaces, and cuts to reconstruct the relative order of events.
Free Online Flashcard Deck
1 Stratigraphy and Depositional Sequences Free Online FlashCards
Study 1 Stratigraphy and Depositional Sequences with 12 free online flashcards. Review key terms, definitions, and concepts with this interactive flashcard deck.
12 cards
02
Front
What is a deposit?
Back
A deposit is accumulated material, such as soil, ash, construction debris, or sediment.
03
Front
Why might an artifact be older than its deposit?
Back
A reworked artifact may have been moved from an earlier location, so it can be older than the deposit that contains it.
04
Front
What kinds of features can be stratigraphic units?
Back
Stratigraphic units are distinct recorded contexts, including deposits, structural remains, and interfaces. Each is identified by observable characteristics and assigned a unique identifier.
05
Front
What is a stratigraphic interface?
Back
An interface is a surface marking a boundary or change in the sequence, such as the surface of a layer or a cut.
06
Front
How is a cut distinguished from a pit fill?
Back
A cut records the event of removing material, such as digging a pit. It is not a deposit; material later placed in the opening is recorded as fill.
07
Front
What does superposition indicate in an undisturbed sequence?
Back
In an undisturbed sequence, an overlying deposit is later than the deposit beneath it.
08
Front
Why can a lower unit not always be assumed older than every higher unit?
Back
Later cuts can remove parts of earlier deposits, so a lower unit is not automatically older than every unit above it. Interpret the direct relationships between units.
09
Front
What does the principle of original horizontality suggest?
Back
Loose material commonly tends toward horizontal layering, but deposits may slope, mound, or follow the shape of a surface.
10
Front
What might explain a deposit ending abruptly in a section?
Back
An abrupt end may mean the deposit continues beyond the excavated area, or that a later cut or erosion removed it.
11
Front
What does a Harris matrix represent?
Back
A Harris matrix diagrams direct stratigraphic relationships, placing earlier units below later units.
12
Front
Should a Harris matrix connect units found at similar depths but with no direct relationship?
Back
Units with no direct stratigraphic relationship should not be connected merely because they occur at similar depths.
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