Harris Matrices: A lesson in futility

April 24, 2008 at 9:58 pm (Hell's Gate)

So I’m in archaeology right now, and we’re just learning about Harris Matrices, which some archaeologist invented in the 1970s to help “convey information.” What ensued was a simple theory illustrated by a complex flow chart of sorts. We just did a 15 minute exercise and tried to take this stratified cross-section of a site and make it into a Harris Matrix. After 14 minutes worth of boxes and lines and crossouts, the professor finally showed us what it was supposed to look like versus what we actually came up with. Once we got it though it’s actually kinda cool, because you can show if something is superimposed, directly related or not. I wonder if I can use that to plot out my life after graduation… :)

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