Question

Using 100 words, explain why an archaeological matrix is important in archaeological research

Answer 1

Here I focus on the use of the Harris matrix in the methodology most commonly known as 'Single Context Recording' (Spence 1990). In single context recording we literally remove and record each 'piece of the stratigraphic jigsaw', one piece at a time. Other methodologies for stratigraphic recording do exist, but in 35 years of UK and international fieldwork, I have not encountered any better method to record stratigraphic relationships during excavation than the Harris matrix.