Stratigraphy

Abstract

This chapter covers the interpretation of stratigraphic evidence, including the principles of stratigraphic superposition, the construction and use of stratigraphic sections, Harris matrices, and single-context plans as aids to interpretation, and confounding variables, such as infiltrated and residual artifacts, that can complicate stratigraphic interpretations. The chapter concludes with an underused stratigraphic tool, the Unitary Association Method (UAM), that facilitates the coordination of stratigraphic sequences that come from sites dispersed across a region.