archaeological horizon

Noun

archaeological horizon (plural archaeological horizons)

1. A common set of artefacts that identifies a culture and is found disseminated widely (usually over a number of sites, but sometimes widely over one site) but restricted to a single stratum; a layer or stratum.
   • The Lochnore Phase is followed by the Shuswap Horizon, the first of three archaeological horizons that together comprise the Late Period of the Mid Fraser-Thompson River area.1996, Arnoud R. Stryd, Michael K. Rousseau, “Early Prehistory of the Mid Fraser-Thompson River Area”, in Roy L. Carlson, Luke Robert Dalla Bona, editors, Early Human Occupation in British Columbia...
   • While speech, song, music and dance presumably existed still earlier, the oldest musical instruments known are four bone flutes and four mammoth ivory flutes from archaeological horizon II at Geißenklösterle (Hahn and Münzel, 1995; Conard et al., 2004).2011, Nuria Sanz, Penelope Keenan (editors), Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersal and Social Developments (HEADS), World Heritage Papers: 29, UNESCO, page 132