Harris matrix: Difference between revisions

The '''Harris matrix''' is a tool used to depict the temporal succession of [[archaeological context]]s and thus the sequence of depositions and surfaces on a 'dry land' archaeological site, otherwise called a 'stratigraphic sequence'. The matrix reflects the relative position and [[stratigraphy|stratigraphic]] contacts of observable stratigraphic units, or contexts. It was developed in 1973 in Winchester, England, by Dr. [[Edward C. Harris]].

The concept of creating [[Seriation (archaeology)|seriation]] diagrams of archaeological strata based on the physical relationship between strata had had some currency in [[Winchester]] and other urban centres in England prior to Harris's formalisation. One of the results of Harris's work, however, was the realisation that sites had to be excavated stratigraphically, in the reverse order to that in which they were created, without the use of arbitrary measures of stratification such as [[spit (archaeology)|spit]]s or {{not a typo|[[planum (archaeology)|planum]]s}}. In his ''Principles of archaeological stratigraphy'' Harris first proposed the need for each unit of stratification to have its own graphic representation, usually in the form of a measured plan. In articulating the laws of archaeological stratigraphy and developing a system in which to demonstrate simply and graphically the sequence of deposition or truncation on a site, Harris, it has been argued, has followed in the footsteps of notable stratigraphic archaeologists such as Mortimer Wheeler, without necessarily being a notable excavator himself.

Professor [[Martin Carver]] of the [[University of York]] has also developed a seriation diagram, known as the Carver matrix (not to be confused with the military term also named [[CARVER matrix]]). This diagram, which is based on the Harris matrix, is designed to represent the time lapse in use of recognizable archaeological entities such as floors and pits. Like Edward Harris, he used contexts numbered and defined on site as the basic elements of the sequence, but he added higher order groupings ("feature" and "structure") to increase the interpretive power. Several other people, such as [[Norman Hammond]], looked to develop similar systems in the 1980s and 1990s.