The concept

Giorgio Buccellati – August 2009, July 2026

Stratigraphy

The term “stratigraphy” is ubiquitous in archaeological discourse, but the concept is not often defined as rigorously as one might wish. In a loose sense, it refers to a variety of concrete field situations where different elements overlay or intersect each other, and the emphasis is on the chronological dimension that the “strata” imply.

At its simplest, one thinks of layers that are horizontally placed one on top of the other, and a layer cake is the most commonly used metaphor for this situation. This is the principle of superposition, which is correct in a chronological sense (later events affect earlier ones after these have left elements in a certain “position”). The term should not, however, be interpreted in the sense that we are always faced with layers evenly positioned in space one on top of (“super-“) the other. The “positioning” is more complex, and proper stratigraphic analysis needs to recognize and document two major and distinctive moments in the process

Emplacement and deposition

The two cardinal principles of stratigaphic analysis are emplacement and deposition.

Emplacement records location of each element and the type of contact the same element has with others that have been euqlly located.

gives us the precise record of each and every element, no matter how minute with regards to both the

It is the point of repose of a dynamic process which caused things to be where they are in space.

From this evidence, we can infer how these elements came to be where they are. The argument is built on the presupposition of function, use, accidents, but rests uniquely on the objective documentation of the types of contact evidenced by their emplacement.

Site formation

Archaeological stratigraphy

In its distinctiveness from geology, archaeological stratigraphic analysis emerges as unique in the fullest sense of the term. This is the process and the method that is exclusive to archaeology and is found in no other discipline. It is the notion of archaeology stricto sensu.

Given the nature of the context, archaeological stratigraphy is highly distinctive. Later events often do not just cause elements to “lay” on top of earlier ones, in a layer-like fashion. They often intrude and disturb the earlier “layers” so that their original disposition is altered.

Another important factor is that the process, unlike what happens in geology, is non repetitive. Resulting from cultural activities, the depositional process is highly unpredictable, and must therefore be observed and recorded according to distinctive concepts and procedures – according to a distinctive, archaeological grammar.

At the basis of such a grammatical approach lies a sharp distinction between emplacement and deposition. One must observe and document each element as it is found in the ground in order to infer from it how it got there in the first place. To this we will turn our attention the following pages.

References

Lucas

Harris 1997² Principles

Schiffer 1996 Formation Processes

Schiffer 2010 Behavioral Archaeology