stratigraphy

• (US) IPA^(key): /stɹəˈtɪɡɹəfi/

stratigraphy (countable and uncountable, plural stratigraphies)

1. (geology) The study of rock layers and the layering process (stratification).
   • 2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Picador, →ISBN, page 40:

     The study of stratigraphy was at this point in its infancy, but it was already understood that different layers of rocks had been formed during different periods.

2. (archaeology) The layering of deposits, with newer remains overlaying older ones, forming a chronology of the site.

• stratigraphy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia