A fine-grained soil exists in different states depending on the amount of water in the soil system. Atterberg Limits and IndicesĪtterberg defined the boundaries of four states of soil in the terms of “limits”. Atterberg Limit is a measure of the critical water content in a fine-grained soil. Swedish soil scientist and chemist Albert Mauritz Atterberg, in the early 1900s, first identified that a gradual decrease in water content of a clay soil slurry causes the soil to pass through different states or conditions. In particular, the water content has always been considered an important and reliable indication of the behavior of cohesive soils since the beginning of soil mechanics. The behavior of fine-grained cohesive soil depends on its mineral composition, water content, degree of saturation, and structure.