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archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
, natural is a term to denote a layer (stratum) in the stratigraphic record where there is no evidence of human impact on the environment. While there may be "natural" layers interbedded with archaeologically interesting layers, such as when a site was abandoned for long periods between occupations, the top (or horizon) of the natural layer below which there is no anthropogenic activity on site, and thus where the
archaeological record The archaeological record is the body of physical (not written) evidence about the past. It is one of the core concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record. Archaeological th ...
begins, is the point to terminate digging.Barker, Philip (1993) ''Techniques of archaeological excavation'' Psychology Press, New Yor
page 79
Usually it is the underlying geological makeup of the site that was formed by geologic processes. It is the goal of complete
excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...
to remove the entirety of the archaeological record all the way to the "natural", leaving only the natural deposits of pre-human activity on site. If the excavation is related to development, the impact assessment may stipulate excavation will cease at a certain depth, because the nature of the development will not disturb remains below a certain level. Such an excavation may not reach a natural or sterile layer.


Issues of definition

Natural is becoming a blurred term in archaeology due to an increased understanding by researchers of natural processes. In addition, through the development of geoarchaeology, scholars believe the
natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...
has a bearing on interpretation of subsequent human activity on any given site. As geoarchaeology continues to influence the interpretation of processes that occur within the archaeological record, the term "natural" has become less useful.Albarella, Umberto (2001) ''Environmental archaeology: meaning and purpose'' Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands
page 56
Natural can be a relative term. On urban sites, where research interests may make a detailed examination of the earliest part of the record impractical, rudimentary human or
prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
activity may go unrecorded, as opposed to an equivalent horizon on a rural site for which the study team's agenda is to look for prehistoric evidence. Chemical and soil process over time often obscure and cause decomposition of cultural materials, and thus a human-occupied layer may look natural. Additionally, early prehistoric tools were manufactured from natural materials, such as bone, stone and fiber; they do not stand out as clearly as metal, glass and plastic. The effect of decompositional processes is that the older an archaeological deposit is, the more it will appear similar to the underlying geology. For some archaeologists, a basic rule of thumb is "the greater the contrast a
context Context may refer to: * Context (language use), the relevant constraints of the communicative situation that influence language use, language variation, and discourse summary Computing * Context (computing), the virtual environment required to s ...
has with the natural, the younger it is." Similarly, United States prehistoric archaeologists often rely on significantly diminished counts of lithic flake
debitage In archaeology, debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction – the production of stone tools and weapons by knapping stone. This assemblage may include the different kinds of lithic flakes and lithic blades, bu ...
to assess the excavation unit's trend toward natural stratigraphy. While a trend may be recognized, a stratum is not called natural or sterile, unless it is void of cultural materials.


Notes


See also

* Geoarchaeology *
Archaeological field survey In archaeology, survey or field survey is a type of field research by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human c ...
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Archaeological context This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...
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Archaeological association This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...
* Relationship (archaeology) *
Archaeological section In archaeology a section is a view in part of the archaeological sequence showing it in the vertical plane, as a cross section, and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. This may make it easier to view and interpret as it developed o ...
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Archaeological horizon In archaeology, the general meaning of horizon is a distinctive type of sediment, artefact, style, or other cultural trait that is found across a large geographical area from a limited time period. The term derives from similar ones in geology, h ...
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Harris matrix The Harris matrix is a tool used to depict the temporal succession of archaeological contexts and thus the sequence of depositions and surfaces on a 'dry land' archaeological site, otherwise called a 'stratigraphic sequence'. The matrix reflect ...
* Excavation (archaeology) *
Deposit model In the field of archaeology a deposit model is a method of identifying the character and degree of survival of buried archaeological remains over a specified area without necessarily excavating the whole area. Following the introduction of archa ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archaeological Natural Methods in archaeology Stratigraphy