stratigraphy

American  

[struh-tig-ruh-fee] / strəˈtɪg rə fi /

noun

1. a branch of geology dealing with the classification, nomenclature, correlation, and interpretation of stratified rocks.

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stratigraphy British  

/ strəˈtɪɡrəfə, strəˈtɪɡrəfɪ, strəˈtɪɡrəfɪst, ˌstrætɪˈɡræfɪk /

noun

1.  stratig.  the study of the composition, relative positions, etc, of rock strata in order to determine their geological history

2. archaeol a vertical section through the earth showing the relative positions of the human artefacts and therefore the chronology of successive levels of occupation

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stratigraphy Scientific  

/ strə-tĭg′rə-fē /

1. The scientific study of rock strata, especially the distribution, deposition, correlation, and age of sedimentary rocks.

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Other Word Forms

• stratigrapher noun
• stratigraphic adjective
• stratigraphical adjective
• stratigraphically adverb
• stratigraphist noun

Etymology

Origin of stratigraphy

First recorded in 1860–65; strati- + -graphy

Example Sentences

In designing their computer model, Cardenas and his team found a new use for 25-year-old scans of Earth's stratigraphy.

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2023

But, says anthropologist John Hawks, a Rising Star team member and co-author of the papers, “The strongest evidence we have is that the burials disrupt the existing stratigraphy in the cave.”

From National Geographic • Jun. 5, 2023

The societies that created these written references are also often societies with a high social stratigraphy.

From Scientific American • May 18, 2023

The dates of the graves, based on stratigraphy and a few scattered objects, closely aligned with the dates of the historically documented battles.

From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2022

Geology: nothing about geomorphology or stratigraphy or even petrology.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes