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.
- Structure
- Two-dimensional directed graph
- Node
- Each box represents a single context
- Edges
- Represent stratigraphic relationships
- Reading
- Vertical position encodes temporal sequence
Common questions
Why does vertical position rather than horizontal layout encode time in a Harris Matrix?+
The convention places later, more recent contexts higher and earlier ones lower, mirroring how younger deposits physically sit above older ones in the ground, which makes the diagram intuitively readable as a sequence.
Can two contexts appear at the same vertical level in the matrix?+
Yes, contexts with no direct stratigraphic relationship to each other are drawn at the same level, showing their relative order cannot be determined from stratigraphy alone even though both relate to contexts above and below them.
How is a Harris Matrix used in a clandestine grave investigation specifically?+
Each excavated soil layer, cut, and fill is recorded as a context, and the resulting matrix documents the sequence of grave digging, body deposition, and backfilling in a form that can be presented and defended in court.
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...