In a message dated 10/14/2005 7:12:51 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

rereading  o'brien & lyman's "seriation, stratigraphy & index fossils" i 
realised  they don't mention or even reference harris or the harris matrix (altho 
they  do cite adrian praetzelis' article in harris' "practices" book)
how  wide-spread is use of the harris matrix &/or his theories of 
stratigraphic  theory in the US?
also: does anyone colour their plan/profile drawings  using pencil crayons? & 
if so, do they try for naturalistic colours, or  use some form of abstract 
code or hatching to represent soil  texture/composition?



I've never tried using the matrix, as most of the sites I excavate have  
fairly simple stratigraphy. It seems very dependent on the observer though if  you 
ask me.
 
Re: "Also..." Colored pencils? You can download a Munsell conversion  program 
from their web site which gives you the RGB or cmyk values. Then create  a 
custom color in autocad, photoshop or whatever graphics program you use and  
fill the stratum with the perceived Munsell color....  (try it and  you'll see 
what I mean by "perceived" color)
 
Carl Steen