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(Terms in italics are defined elsewhere in the glossary)

factor analysis A multivariate statistical technique which assesses the degree of variation between artifact types, and is based on a matrix of correlation coefficients which measure the relative association between any two variables. (Chapter 5)

faience Glass-like material first made in predynastic Egypt; it involves coating a core material of powdered quartz with a vitreous alkaline glaze. (Chapter 8)

fall-off analysis The study of regularities in the way in which quantities of traded items found in the archaeological record decline as the distance from the source increases. This may be plotted as a falloff curve, with the quantities of material (Y-axis) plotted against distance from source (X-axis). (Chapter 9)

faunal dating A method of relative dating based on observing the evolutionary changes in particular species of mammals, so as to form a rough chronological sequence.
(Chapter 4)

feature A non-portable artifact ; e.g. hearths, architectural elements, or soil stains.
(Chapter 3)

filigree Fine open metalwork using wires and soldering, first developed in the Near East. (Chapter 8)

fission-track dating A dating method based on the operation of a radioactive clock, the spontaneous fission of an isotope of uranium present in a wide range of rocks and minerals. As with potassium-argon dating , with whose time range it overlaps, the method gives useful dates from rocks adjacent to archaeological material. (Chapter 4)

flotation A method of screening (sieving) excavated matrix in water so as to separate and recover small ecofacts and artifacts . (Chapter 6)

fluxgate gradiometer A type of fluxgate magnetometer , producing a continuous reading on a meter. (Chapter 3)

fluxgate magnetometer A type of magnetometer used in subsurface detection, producing a continuous reading. (Chapter 3)

forensic anthropology The scientific study of human remains in order to build up a biological profile of the deceased. (Chapter 11)

formation processes Those processes affecting the way in which archaeological materials came to be buried, and their subsequent history afterwards. Cultural formation processes include the deliberate or accidental activities of humans; natural formation processes refer to natural or environmental events which govern the burial and survival of the archaeological record. (Chapter 2)

fossil cuticles Outermost protective layer of the skin of leaves or blades of grass, made of cutin, a material that survives in the archaeological record often in feces. Cuticular analysis is a useful adjunct to palynology in environmental reconstruction. (Chapter 6)

fossil ice wedges Soil features caused when the ground freezes and contracts, opening up fissures in the permafrost that fill with wedges of ice. The fossil wedges are proof of past cooling of climate and of the depth of permafrost. (Chapter 6)

frequency seriation A relative dating method which relies principally on measuring changes in the proportional abundance, or frequency, observed among finds (e.g. counts of tool types, or of ceramic fabrics). (Chapter 4)

functional-processual approach See processual archaeology .