In archaeology, not only the context (physical location) of a discovery a significant fact but the formation of the context is as well. See stratification. An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record. The cutting of a pit or ditch in the past is a context, whilst the material filling it will be another. Multiple fills, seen as layers in archaeological section would mean multiple contexts. Structural features, natural deposits and inhumations are also contexts. By separating a site into these basic, discrete units, archaeologists are able to create a chronology for activity on a site and describe and interpret it. Artifacts in the main are not treated as contexts but belonging of them. Contexts are sometimes referred to as either positive or negative depending on whether their formation added or removed material from the archaeological record. Negative contexts are cuts. it can not be stressed to strongly how fundamentally important the concept of context is in modern archaeological practice Archaeology, archeology, or archology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... In archaeology, especially in the course of excavation, stratification is a paramount and base concept. ... The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyise and reconstruct the past. ... Section can be: A cross section (in the common sense or the physics sense) In mathematics: A conic section A section of a fiber bundle or sheaf A Caesarean section In UK law, Section 28 In the fictional Star Trek universe, Section 31 A military unit A section (land) is... In archaeology, the term feature is generally used to refer to any nonportable remnant of human activity, such as a hearth, road, or house remains, later found or recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ... By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ... The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyise and reconstruct the past. ...

Suitability of single context planning

the use of context as discrete units does not necessitate single context recording methodologies but it does facilitate its use and popularity. single context recording is a system of recording and planning which treats each context on par in the process of excavation. the system of planning creates a superimposable stack of semi transparent plans that can be stacked in stratigraphic order to reconstruct the site as it was excavated.

context types

contexts are often recorded by type. there is no standardization but the following are common types.

1. Deposit: Any soil deposit be it a; layer, dump or fill ,surfaces such as gravel roads are deposits
2. Cut: Any feature defined by action of removal of other contexts be it pit, ditch or truncation
3. Skeleton: Any human skeleton remains
4. Coffin: coffin of any description not masonry in nature
5. Masonry: Any masonry structure from steps to walls to stone-lined wells
6. Timber: Any wood not part of a deposit with some function that is not exclusively a artifact

See also

• Single context recording
• Harris matrix
• Archaeological plan
• Archaeological association
• Relationship (archaeology)
• Cut (archaeology)
• Archaeological section
• Feature (archaeology)
• Fill (archaeology)

The Harris Matrix or Harris-Winchester Matrix is a method of recording and interpreting archaeological sites. ... Archaeological plan In an archaeological excavation, a plan is a drawn record of features (and artifacts) in the horizontal plane. ... Association in archaeology refers to a close relationship between two or more objects. ... Half-section through a Saxon pit In archaeology a section is a view of an excavated archaeological trench or feature showing the contents of that feature in two dimensions (vertical and horizontal) and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. ... In archaeology, the term feature is generally used to refer to any nonportable remnant of human activity, such as a hearth, road, or house remains, later found or recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ...

References

• The MoLAS archaeological site manual MoLAS, London 1994. ISBN 0-904818-40-3. Rb 128pp. bl/wh