ARKY 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Volcanic Ash, Taphonomy, Wet Season
31 Oct 2018
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Document Summary
What is the matrix: the physical substance surrounding an archaeological find. Like to be more specific, so get into geology. (sand, clay, water) The physical medium that surrounds, holds and supports the archaeological material: provenance. The three dimensional position of an object within the matrix: association. Two or more archaeological items (artifacts, ecofacts, features or fossils) occurring together within the sam matrix: context. The interpretation of the significance of an artifacts deposition in terms of its matrix, provenance, and association. Types of contexts: primary and secondary context. Primary context: the original context of the find, undisturbed by any factor. Secondary context: the context of a find whose primary context has been disturbed by later activity. Finding the evidence: taphonomy: taphonomy: the study of the processes of site disturbance and destruction, an understanding of site taphonomy can help an archaeologist make an informed and cautious interpretation of the past.
