In situ is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in many different contexts. For example, in fields such as physics, geology, chemistry, or biology, in situ may describe the way a measurement is taken, that is, in the same place the phenomenon is occurring without isolating it from other systems or altering the original conditions of the test. The opposite of in situ is ex situ.
Ancient Hohokam arrowhead in situ.
Live sea snail, species Nataea, photographed in situ
Provenance is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, paleontology, archival science, economy, computing, and scientific inquiry in general.
Diana and Actaeon by Titian has a full provenance covering its passage through several owners and four countries since it was painted for Philip II of Spain in the 1550s.
Sir William Petre, 1567: artist unknown. By the turn of the 17th century, this portrait was in the collection of John, 1st Baron Lumley, a fact indicated by the cartellino added to the painting at the upper right. It is now in the National Portrait Gallery, London
A stamp on a historic document, showing that it has passed through the hands of the Records Preservation Section of the British Records Association, a rescue service for archival material: the number indicates its earlier provenance
