| Harris Matrix |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT HARRIS MATRIX | |
| methods and principles in archaeology | |
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Harris’ laws The Law of Superposition In a series of layers and interfacial features, as originally created, the upper units of Stratification are younger and the lower are older, for each must have been deposited on, or created by the removal of, a pre-existing mass of archaeological Stratification . Law of Original Horizontal Any archaeological layer deposited in an unconsolidated form will tend towards a horizontal disposition. Strata which are found with tilted surfaces were so originally deposited, or lie in conformity with the contours of a pre-existing basin of deposition. Law of Original Continuity Any archaeological deposit, as originally laid down, will be bounded by the edge of the basin of deposition, or will thin down to a feather edge. Therefore, if any edge of the deposit is exposed in a vertical plane view, a part of its original extent must have been removed by Excavation or Erosion : its continuity must be sought, or its absence explained. Law of Stratigraphical Succession Any given unit of archaeological Stratification takes its place in the stratigraphic sequence of a site from its position between the undermost of all units which lie above it and the uppermost of all those units which lie below it and with which it has a physical contact, all other Superpositional relationships being regarded as redundant The latest contexts sit at the top of the matrix and the earliest at the bottom with straight lines linking them together via all the intermediate contexts. The matrix can thus show the chronological relationship between any two contexts. As large sites invariably create complex matrices, archaeologists nowadays use computer programs to create the diagrams for them. This method of dating is usually used during Phase III Survey of a site. Which only occurs after it has been deemed worthy of continuess work and man power (during Phase I and II), and thought to be able to contribute to the scientific community. Harris Matrices are done along side of other dating methods like Typological Comparisons , Seriation , and Superposition . Martin Carver developed a similar method known as the Carver Matrix . EXTERNAL LINK |
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