ARH312Y1 Lecture : ARH312 2nd Sem Lecture 5
Document Summary
Why do we need quantification: comparison between sites or assemblages. E. g. , they ate more fish at site a than at site b. E. g. , house 6 was probably an elite residence because it has more decorated pottery than the other houses. E. g. , site b is probably older than site a because it has lower proportion of microliths: these statements need backing from quantification. Taphonomic effects: fragmentation some objects are more fragile and can break into smaller pieces, post-depositional processes can affect our recovery. If we are interested in the number of animals that contribute to an archaeological assemblage we need to consider a number of factors. N = the actual number of animals s = number of bones in the animal r = recovery rate f = fragmentation rate. Probability that a specimen will be deposited in the archaeological record. Probability that the specimen will survive post-depositional processes. Probability that it will be recovered by archaeologists.
