Bone Counts and Statistics: A Critique

The analysis of quantified vertebrate faunal data is important for the interpretation of many sites. This paper describes in some detail the strengths and weaknesses of the various quantification methods in use, focusing in particular on how both of these have often been misunderstood, and reviews c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of archaeological science Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 121 - 157
Main Author Ringrose, T.J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.03.1993
Elsevier Science
Academic Press
Subjects
Excavation and methods
Interpretation, statistical and computer analysis
Laboratory methods
Methodology and general studies
Prehistory and protohistory
Vertebrate Faunal Data, Taphonomy, Quantification Methods, Statistics
Vertebrate Faunal Data, Taphonomy, Quantification Methods, Statistics
Methodology
Method
Mathematics and statistics
Type of publication
Osteology
Taphonomy
Processing
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Summary:The analysis of quantified vertebrate faunal data is important for the interpretation of many sites. This paper describes in some detail the strengths and weaknesses of the various quantification methods in use, focusing in particular on how both of these have often been misunderstood, and reviews certain studies using such data. It is shown that many of these lack logical or statistical validity, and that substantial claims have been made with little justification. It is suggested that greater co-operation between archaeologists and statisticians would be an important step towards remedying this situation.
ISSN:0305-4403
1095-9238
DOI:10.1006/jasc.1993.1010