Mussau Artifact Catalog, supplementary materials online version

Grid Unit (or simply unit): the horizontal unit of control, a 1 x 1 m block. Units may be further specified as test units or transect units. Level: the vertical unit of control within a unit. Levels never cross natural stratigraphic boundaries, although they may be of artificially defined thickness within natural strata, when it was necessary to subdivide a thick deposit for purposes of vertical control. Levels are numbered with Arabic numerals from top to bottom. (Because our 1985 excavations were undertaken as a part of the Australian-organized Lapita Homeland Project, we fell into the habit of referring to levels as “spits,” using the Old World term common among Australian archaeologists. Our field forms likewise use the term “spit.” In this monograph, however, we exclusively use the American term “level.”) Layer: a natural sedimentary and depositional stratum, defined in terms of lithology, structure, grain size, color, boundary contacts, and similar criteria. One layer may correspond to one or more levels. Layers are numbered with Roman numerals from top to bottom; facies distinctions within layers are sometimes designated with letters (e.g., Layer IA). Analytic Zone (or simply zone): an aggregate of levels across two or more units, combined for purposes of analysis and reporting of cultural content. Levels combined into an analytic zone are regarded as being chronologically and stratigraphically equivalent. Analytic zones are designated with capital letters, from top to bottom; subzones are numbered with numeric subscripts.