Archaeology

Association: the co-occurrence of an artifact with other archaeological remains, usually in the same matrix

Attribute: a minimal characteristic of an artifact such that it cannot be further subdivided; attributes commonly studied include aspects of form, style, decoration, color, and raw material

Relative Dating: the determination of chronological sequence without recourse to a fixed time scale, e.g. the arrangement of artifacts in a typological sequence, or seriation (cf. absolute dating)

Building Archaeology: using archaeological techniques to document standing structures, such as drawing, photographing, measuring, recording and sampling, and historical record searching

Prehistory: the period of human history before the advent of writing

Artifact: any portable object used, modified, or made by humans, e.g. stone tools, pottery, and metal weapons

Ecofact: non-artifactual organic and environmental remains that have cultural relevance, e.g. faunal and floral material, as well as soils and sediments

Typology: the systematic organization of artifacts into types on the basis of shared attributes