ANT415H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Conversion Of Units, Tendon, Femur
Document Summary
Quantification in zooarchaeology: taxonomic abundance, estimates of dietary contributions, analysis assignment, secondary data estimates of relative proportions or specific indices based on the primary data, measuring taxonomic abundance. Keep in mind: there is a lot of difference between the life assemblage and the sample assemblage, do not confuse measurement with interpretation we are not given direct information, validity. Relative frequencies: explore environmental fluctuations, taphonomic, recovery, and sampling biases, compare animal use through time and space, evaluate relative importance of animals in diets obtained through subsistence strategies. Nisp advantages: simple to calculate, replicable by another analyst at different (relatively!, additive. Possible solution suggestions: consistent sampling methods, conversion factor to account for different number of bones, use for rank order, or compare similar species. Limited set of elements confidently identified for all taxa. Remember: nisp is a description of the sample not an estimate of the death assemblage. Femur, 2 fully fused left, 1 ff right, 1 unfused left, 1 uf right.
