A Grammar of the Archaeological Record (Version 2, Beta release)

Epistemics

Giorgio Buccellati – March 2026

Epistemics

Epistemics refers to how knowledge is acquired, organized and conveyed.

The structure of the grammar reflects these three steps, as indicated by the headings in yellow in the sidebar to the left.

Archaeological epistemics

More specifically, archaeological epistemics rests on three basic venues:

the nature of the data;
the process through which they are acquired;
the methods to be applied in the process.

1. Data

Archaeological data are elements of material culture belonging to a broken tradition and tied to place: this is the fundamental epistemic principle that distinguishes archaeology from all other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. For a full discussion see below.

2. Process

Accordingly, the acquisition process must account for the localized nature of the data, both in their orignal local context (recovery) and in the way in which they may come to be grouped into formal sets (clustering).

3. Methods

The process is based on very specific methods that guide us in transforming the physical record into a referential record – grammaticalizing things as found into things as known.

Synopsis

The chart below offers a synopsis of the epistemic system.

The area highlighted in green refers to the material that is covered in detail in this grammar. The other topics are dealt briefly in the grammar from a theoretical point of view; they are covered in detail in the websites to which a link is given.

Titles that are here highlighted appear in yellow on the left hand side bar.

A full description of each topic will be found at the appropriate section in the website.

EPISTEMICS ARCHAEOLOGICAL EPISTEMICS
PROCESS DATA METHOD
1.
Acquiring
knowledge Disentangling the matrix Stratigraphy
Space:
   Emplacement
   Volumetry
Time:
   Deposition
   Chronometry
Structuring wholes Typology Morphology
   Built environment
   Objects
Semiotics
   Chronology
   Function
2.
Organizing
knowledge Classifying constituents Categorization
3.
Conveying
knowledge Re-structuring selected wholes Curation/
display Conservation MCV
Presentation MPR
Re-configuring the referential
record Documentation/
interpretation Digital UGR
Print MEL

Overview

In the grammar, we will discuss in detail the specifics of this epistemic system, under five major headings that correspond to the processes involved (as shown in the sidebar to the left):

1. Acquiring knowldge
     • Disentangling the matrix
     • Structuring wholes
2. Organizing knowledge
3. Conveying knowledge
     • Re-structuring selected wholes
     • Re-configuring the record

Here one will find an overview that sets side by side the key points of the system.

	Data	Process	Method
1. Acquiring knowledge	We face an amorphous matrix, of which only the outermost boundaries are known.	Disentangling means that the matrix must be taken apart so as to extract the elements contained therein.	Stratigraphy provides the documentation that accounts for all the data so retrieved.
1. Acquiring knowledge	The elements are seen as wholes in themselves and as components of larger wholes.	Structuring is the process through which the whole is identified and defined.	We identify formal co-occurrences of patterns (typology) and refer to pertinent information from other contexts (semiotics).
2. Organizing knowledge	Constitutents include the physical elements as found and the descriptors that refer to them.	Classifying is the process that articulates the formal charact-eristics of the constituents.	Categorization defines variables as categories that subsume a number of variants.
3. Conveying knowledge	A few wholes are selected, such as structures in the field or objects in a museum.	These wholes are re-structured meaning that they are given a new identity that retains the original integrity but is detached from the original context.	We ensure their curation and preservation, with appropriate explanations geared to in person visitors.
3. Conveying knowledge	The entire record is made available in a referential modality, meaning that ...	... the physical record is re-configured in terms of words, measurements and images.	A truly "global" record is possible only in a digital format, while the printed venue remains necessarily selective.

EPISTEMICS	ARCHAEOLOGICAL EPISTEMICS
	PROCESS	DATA	METHOD
1. Acquiring knowledge	Disentangling	the matrix	Stratigraphy
				Space: Emplacement Volumetry
				Time: Deposition Chronometry
	Structuring	wholes	Typology	Morphology Built environment Objects
				Semiotics Chronology Function
2. Organizing knowledge	Classifying	constituents	Categorization
3. Conveying knowledge	Re-structuring	selected wholes	Curation/ display	Conservation	MCV
				Presentation	MPR
	Re-configuring	the referential record	Documentation/ interpretation	Digital	UGR
				Print	MEL