Quantifying Archaeology
1st Edition
Description
This book introduces archaeologists to the most important quantitative methods, from the initial description of archaeological data to techniques of multivariate analysis. These are presented in the context of familiar problems in archaeological practice, an approach designed to illustrate their relevance and to overcome the fear of mathematics from which archaeologists often suffer.
Readership
Archaeologists.
Table of Contents
Introduction. Quantifying Description. Picture Summaries of a Single Variable. Numerical Summaries of a Single Variable. An Introduction to Statistical Inference. The Chi-Squared Test. Beyond Chi-Squared: Describing Association between Two Nominal Scale Variables. Numeric Variables: The Normal Distribution. Relationships between Two Numeric Variables: Correlation and Regression. When the Regression Doesn't Fit. Facing Up to Complexity: Multiple Regression and Correlation. Numerical Classification in Archaeology. Simplifying Complex Spaces: The Role of Multivariate Analysis. Probabilistic Sampling in Archaeology. Conclusion. Appendix 1: Statistical Tables. Appendix 2: Computer Packages for Statistical Analysis. References. Index.
Details
- No. of pages:
- 364
- Language:
- English
- Copyright:
- © Academic Press 1988
- Published:
- 28th February 1988
- Imprint:
- Academic Press
- eBook ISBN:
- 9781483295947
About the Author
Stephen Shennan
Dr. Stephen Shennan is a lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Southampton, where he has taught this subject to first-year students for several years.
Affiliations and Expertise
University of Southampton, U.K.
Reviews
@qu:"The text is very well written, and the author shows a particular concern for leading archaeology students through some actual applications of more difficult statistical tests and concepts." @source:--GEOARCHAEOLOGY @qu:"...Shennan's book is an important addition to the handful available which explain mathematical and computer techniques for archaeologists. It provides a firm grounding in statistics for the reader prepared to work his or her way through it... I am sure it will have a significant and beneficial impact on the discipline." @source:--JAMES DORAN, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX (as seen in JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE)