ANT415H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Zooarchaeology, Si Derived Unit, Epiphyseal Plate
Document Summary
Quantification in zooarchaeology secondary data estimates of relative proportions or specific indices based on the primary data. Measuring taxonomic abundance create indices to understand how animals and humans related to one another in the past. Do not confuse measurement with interpretation: we are only working with a sample assemblage, so it is not entirely accurate to the living assemblage. Validity does measured variated accurately reflect target variable. Basic count of the number of bones identified for each taxonomic category. Often used to estimate the relative frequency of those taxa can be calculated for any analytical unit: site, unit, layer/level. Nisp advantages simple to calculate replicable by another analyst at a different time (relatively) additive. Nisp disadvantages interdependence (but taphonomic loss may reduce this problem: cannot be sure if the bones were connected to the same individual some species have more bones than others, artificially overrepresents a species at a site.
