Harris Matrix
Definition
A two-dimensional directed graph in which each box is a single context and connecting lines represent stratigraphic relationships. Vertical position encodes temporal sequence: later contexts sit above earlier ones.
Related terms
- Context
- The smallest unit of stratigraphic record: a single deposit (fill, layer), a single feature (cut, pit), or a standing structure. Each context...
- Cut
- The void created by removing earth, for example a grave shaft, a post-hole, or a ditch. A cut is always older than...
- Fill
- Material that entered a cut after it was made, whether backfilled deliberately, slumped from the sides, or accumulated naturally. A grave typically...
- Natural
- The undisturbed geological or pedogenic deposit that predates any human activity at the site. Identifying where 'natural' begins is how excavators establish...
- Phasing
- The grouping of contexts into episodes of activity based on the Harris Matrix sequence. A grave may have a single phase (dug...
Explained in
- Stratigraphic Principles and Harris MatrixA two-dimensional directed graph in which each box is a single context and connecting lines represent stratigraphic relationships. Vertical position encodes te...