Glossary

Aspect A group of focuses. component Similar characters at a site. correlation To put or be in relation; to demonstrate correspondence.

Deposition Laying down or accumulation of any material. focus Traits occurring in more than one site. geologic time Implies a long duration and remoteness in the past. hominoids Manlike.

Horizon A distinct spatial continuity of cultural traits limited in time.

Phase Characteristic traits to distinguish in time a site from other units.

Radioactivity Emission (radiation) of energetic particles during radioactive decay.

Tradition Temporal equivalency represented by technology. variant A unique expression of a culture tradition.

The concept of time can... be intimidating, to institutions as well as to individuals. (Claude Albritton, The Abyss of Time, 1986)

Time is a human invention. We recognize time by changes in ourselves and our environment in the long term, but in the short term, these changes are barely if at all perceptible unless they are catastrophic. We have developed ways in which to measure time so that we can place in perspective events of the past, permit the making of schedules, give a reference for comparisons (correlation), allow projection into the future, etc. The dictionary defines time as ‘‘. . . the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues’’. Time can be measured from nanoseconds to light years.

Time marches on and is recognized by a sequence of events, such as starting (being born), developing (growing), maturing (aging), and ending (finish and death). These progressions or cycles occur in nature and can be repeated over and over but are never exactly the same. In geology, there are numerous progressions or cycles through time, and it is one of the basic concepts in the geologic stage of events.

Humans have been intrigued with time since the beginning. At first, all of Earth history was accounted for in myths and stories of the ancients. Numerous age estimates of the Earth were made based on these tales and a value of 6000 ± years surfaced. But eventually, the early natural philosophers realized that all of Earth’s history could not be condensed into such a short period. By the eighteenth century, the immensity of time was suspected but difficult to comprehend. In 1751, Carolus Linnaeus, the great Swedish naturalist, was one of the first to have an inkling of the enormity of time as he stated: ‘‘I feel dizzy as I stand on this height and look down before the long time period, which has passed like waves in the (OOre) sound, and left behind them almost worn-out traces of the former world...’’. In 1788 James Hutton, the founder of modern geology, mused in his Theory of the Earth that for the Earth: ‘‘... we find no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end... ’’. From that time on, the age of the Earth was determined to be greater and greater until today we know it is approximately 4.5 billion years old.

The subject of time was crucial in the stages of development of geology and archaeology. Enough time was necessary to allow all of the events, including evolution of living forms as envisioned by Charles Darwin, to have taken place.