What is Stratigraphy?

SOLUTION

Stratigraphy, scientific discipline concerned with the description of rock successions and their interpretation in terms of a general time scale. It provides a basis for historical geology, and its principles and methods have found application in such fields as petroleum geology and archaeology.

• Stratigraphy is the study of layered materials (strata) that were deposited over time—their lateral and vertical relations, as well as their composition. The basic law of stratigraphy, the law of superposition, states that lower layers are older than upper layers unless the sequence has been disturbed. 
• Stratified deposits may include soils, sediments, and rocks, as well as man-made structures such as pits and postholes. The adoption of this principle by archeologists greatly improved excavation and archeological dating methods.
• An important principle in the application of stratigraphy to archaeology is the law of superposition—the principle that in any undisturbed deposit the oldest layers are normally located at the lowest level. Accordingly, it is presumed that the remains of each succeeding generation are left on the debris of the last.

• Archaeology is the study of human history using material remains. These remains can be any objects that people created, modified, or used.
• Portable remains are usually called artifacts. Artifacts include tools, clothing, and decorations. Non-portable remains, such as pyramids or post-holes, are called features.
• Archaeologists use artifacts and features to learn how people lived in specific times and places. They want to know what these people’s daily lives were like, how they were governed, how they interacted with each other, and what they believed and valued.
• Coin collecting, also called numismatics, the systematic accumulation and study of coins, tokens, paper money, and objects of similar form and purpose.