Back to top: The system: introduction
The formal dimension
In this first section we will look at the system in terms of its formal aspects: what are the constitutive elements and how do they interact with each other?
This will serve as the basis for a study of the system in terms of its applications to the archaeological record
Back to top: The system: introduction
The System as a Practical Implementation of Theory
The issues raised in the Introduction of the Grammar call for a new approach to archaeological publishing – not an approach that is based on different editorial techniques, but rather one that starts from a different understanding of archaeological categories. As described in Volume 1, this is at variance from the norm, and as such it requires a demonstration of its feasibility. The system described in Volume 1 aims at doing just that.
The configuration of the system is described here under six headings.
- A. Constituents: The concept. – Definition of the concept with an inventory of the specific properties.
- B. Primary categorization. – The minimal constituents as they are observed in their stratigraphic context, and the paradigms into which they fit (rosters and lexica).
- C. Stratigraphic clustering. – The correlation between space and time as the constituents are clustered according to type of contact into strata first, and then into phases and horizons.
- D. Typological clustering. – The specific identity they assume on the basis of a transversal typological clustering.
- E. Analytical organization of the record: data structure. – The organization of the record within an overarching archive structure: directories and files (accessed from the right-hand side).
- F. Synthethical organization of the record: main narrative. – The organization of the record in a synthetic and sequential manner, based on conventional archaeological presentation (accessed from the left-hand side).
In a way, this corresponds (for categories B-D) to the classic distinction within a linguistic grammar into phonology (minimal constituents and their properties), morphology (primary clustering) and syntax (distributional arrangement).
In Volume 1, one will also find a detailed listing of the codes utilized, with an explanation of the underlying logic and the consequent utilization in both data entry and analysis.
Back to top: The system: introduction