Context

What I mean when I say context is this:

   * The location of an artifact or feature in relationship to other artifacts and features.

Or

   * How the position of stuff relates to the position of other stuff within the site.

So I found this pot next to this hearth, and this hearth is next to a stone table, and that says something about that pot. So that pot would mean something different if I found it in a grave, or in a storage area. A good example is the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon. On the Parthenon they have an entirely different meaning than they do sitting in an exhibit hall in the British Museum. In the British Museum they could be any Greek statue from the Classical era, but at the Parthenon their context becomes clear. But we know these artifacts contexts. There are hundreds more artifacts that show up at museums and no one knows where they came from, or they don't say. These artifacts essentially have no history, we can never know what they mean because we do not know where they were found or what they were found with. These things are essential to understanding an artifact. Was it found in a temple? Religious artifact. Was it found in a home? Domestic use. If its from a grave, its a grave good, an offering for the dead. Where an object is found is just as important as what it is, in fact knowing that can help you determine what that artifact might be. If this pot was found in a rock quarry clearly its not fine china. Context, context, context.