Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (707 page)

 
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A type of archaeological publication that attempts to pull together and interpret a broad range of data and information about a particular topic or geographical area.

 
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In archaeology, procedures for creating sets of archaeological units derived from a logical system for a particular purpose.

 
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A form of probabilistic sampling in which the target is divided into equal-sized blocks (for example, a series of squares covering an archaeological site or survey region) and a sample taken at a predetermined point in each block (e.g. on the grid intersection or in the middle of each square). This method is useful for sampling unevenly distributed populations, but runs the risk of missing things that are regularly spaced.

 
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The combined application of the three interconnected models of systems theory, cultural ecology, and multi-lineal evolution to understand social change.

 
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A method of formal analysis in which the object of study is viewed as comprising a series of distinct but interconnected components or subsystems. Initially developed in the field of cybernetics, general systems theory, in particular that relating to so-called ‘open systems’ was brought into the social sciences in the 1960s. In archaeology it was used as a means of investigating social complexity and long-term change. In 1968, for example, David
CLARKE
published a simple systems model involving four subsystems (economy; religious pattern; social pattern; and material culture) connected together and through the medium of technology with the system environment. By developing an understanding of the connections between subsystems, and measuring the flows of matter and energy through the system, it was believed possible to identify the causes and consequences of both progressive change and major episodes of discontinuity.

 
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