A color identification system for sediment, soil, chert, pottery, and rock; an aid used in the physical examination and recording of objects where color is felt to be an essential or at least a significant aspect of the analysis. Devised by Albert H. Munsell, the three factors of hue, value, and chroma are taken into consideration, all rated on a scale of 0-10 and expressed quantitatively. Hue describes the colors of the spectrum present, value their concentration, and chroma their purity. The color of soil or, for example, pottery, can be matched in the chart and given a value, so that anyone with a similar set of charts can understand the exact color of the material. The method allows direct comparison of colors without physically moving the material, and is clearly preferable to the use of such subjective descriptions as 'reddish-brown' or 'yellowish-gray'. The charts are contained in a loose-leaf notebook with pages of hundreds of standardized color chips, each perforated with a hole through which the color of the soil or other material can be compared with the standard sample.