ABSTRACT
The definition and dating of chronological phases or periods are fundamental to most, if not all, archaeological endeavour. The procedures involved in identifying types, periods and their dates are now sophisticated, but there has been little theoretical discussion about style sequencing and periodisation as cultural processes. The main concern over recent decades has been to use periodisation as a starting-point for studies of settlement, economic or social change. The periodisation itself remains in the background, subservient to evolutionary change, adaptive strategies or ideological manipulations.
