Relative dating In stratigraphy, archaeologists assume that sites undergo stratification over time, leaving older layers beneath newer ones. Like a layer cake or slice of lasagna, a sites lower layers are assumed to be older than those that lie above them.

What is an archaeological layer?

Archaeological stratigraphy, which focuses on layers created by man, was derived largely from the observations of stratigraphic geologists and geomorphologists. A geomorphologist studies stratigraphy in order to determine the natural processes, such as floods, that altered and formed local terrain.

What is an archaeological sequence?

Archaeological stratification or sequence is the dynamic superimposition of single units of stratigraphy, or contexts. Stratigraphic relationships are the relationships created between contexts in time, representing the chronological order in which they were created.

What are archaeological finds called?

Ecofacts Ecofacts – Archaeological finds that are of cultural significance, but were not manufactured by humans. These include bones and vegetal remains that can tell us about past diet or environments.

What are the laws of archaeological stratigraphy?

The laws of superposition, original horizontality, and original continuity thus refer to the physical aspects of strata in their accumulated state. They do not relate such strata to their respective positions in the stratigraphic sequence of the site, i.e. to their order of separate deposition through time.