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History vocabulary · Archaeology Basics

Seriation

Meaning in history, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In history, seriation means: Arranging artifacts or assemblages into a sequence using changes in their characteristics or frequencies.

In Turkish: seriasyon, buluntuları dizileme

How it is used

Often supports relative chronology; the ordered sequence does not automatically supply calendar years.

Example sentences

  1. Seriation placed the pottery groups in a sequence of changing decoration.

    Variation becomes evidence for an ordered relationship.

  2. A dated layer helped anchor the seriation to calendar time.

    Independent dating adds years to an otherwise relative sequence.

Common collocations

  • pottery seriation
  • frequency seriation
  • chronologyThe order in which events happened, or a list or table that sets out events and their dates in that order.
  • artifactAn object made or shaped by people, such as a tool, coin, weapon or piece of jewellery, especially one studied for what it reveals about the past.

More terms: Archaeology Basics

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