Sampling in Archaeology

275 Pages·2011·9.63 MB·English

by  Clive Orton

SamplinginArchaeology
Thefirstoverviewofsamplingforarchaeologistsforovertwentyyears,thismanual
offersa comprehensiveaccountof theapplicationsof statisticalsamplingtheory
whichareessentialtomodernarchaeologicalpracticeatarangeofscales,fromthe
regionaltothemicroscopic.Bringingarchaeologistsuptodatewithanaspectof
theirworkwhichisoftenmisunderstood,itincludesadiscussionoftherelevanceof
sampling theory to archaeological interpretation, and considers its fundamental
place in fieldwork and post-excavation study. It demonstrates the vast range of
techniquesthatareavailable,onlysomeofwhicharewidelyusedbyarchaeologists.
Asectiononstatisticaltheoryalsoreviewsthelatestdevelopmentsinthefield,and
theformalmathematicsisavailableinanappendix,cross-referencedwiththemain
text.
cliveortonisReaderinQuantitativeArchaeologyattheInstituteofArchaeol-
ogy,UniversityCollegeLondon.Heistheco-authorofSpatialAnalysisinArchae-
ology (1976) and Pottery in Archaeology (1993), and author of Mathematics in
Archaeology(1982),allpublishedbyCambridgeUniversityPress.Hehaspublished
widelyinscholarlyjournals.
CAMBRIDGE MANUALS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Serieseditors
DonBrothwell,UniversityofYork
GraemeBarker,UniversityofLeicester
DenaDincauze,UniversityofMassachusetts,Amherst
PriscillaRenouf,MemorialUniversityofNewfoundland
CambridgeManualsinArchaeologyisaseriesofreferencehandbooksdesignedfor
aninternationalaudienceofupper-levelundergraduateandgraduatestudents,and
professionalarchaeologistsandarchaeologicalscientistsinuniversities,museums,
research laboratories, and field units. Each book includes a survey of current
archaeological practice alongside essential reference material on contemporary
techniquesandmethodology.
Alreadypublished:
J.D.RichardsandN.S.Ryan,data processing in archaeology
SimonHillson,teeth
AlwyneWheelerandAndrewK.G.Jones,fishes
LesleyAdkinsandRoyAdkins,archaeological illustration
Marie-AgnesCourty,PaulGoldbergandRichardMacPhail,soils and
micromorphology in archaeology
CliveOrton,PaulTyers,andAlanVince,pottery in archaeology
R.LeeLyman,vertebrate taphonomy
PeterG.Dorrell,photography in archaeology and conservation
(2nd edn)
A.G.Brown,alluvial geoarchaeology
CherylClaassen,shells
WilliamAndrefskyJr.lithics
ElizabethJ.ReitzandElizabethS.Wingzooarchaeology
SAMPLING IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Clive Orton
UniversityCollegeLondon
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521566667
© Cambridge University Press 2000
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2000
Reprinted 2002
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Clive Orton, 1944–
Sampling in archaeology / Clive Orton; illustrations by Gillie Newman
p. cm. – (Cambridge manuals in archaeology)
ISBN 0 521 56226 0 (hb) 0 521 56666 5 (pbk)
1. Archaeology – Statistical methods handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Sampling
(statistics) handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. II. Series.
CC80.6.078 2000
930 – dc21 99-28846 CIP
ISBN 978-0-521-56226-3 hardback
ISBN 978-0-521-56666-7 paperback
Transferred to digital printing 2009
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred to in
this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel
timetables and other factual information given in this work are correct at
the time of first printing but Cambridge University Press does not guarantee
the accuracy of such information thereafter.
CONTENTS
Listofillustrations pagevi
Listoftables ix
Acknowledgements x
1 Alltheworld’sasample 1
2 Alittleofwhatyoufancy? 14
3 Ifthisisthesample,whatwasthepopulation? 40
4 Coveringtheground 67
5 What’sinasite? 112
6 Theanswerliesinthesoil 148
7 ‘Butmanysanguinepeoplehope,toseethemthrougha
microscope’ 177
8 ‘Initsdepths,whattreasures’ 191
9 Beyondrandomsampling 206
Appendix 210
Bibliography 224
Index 248
v
ILLUSTRATIONS
1.1 Invasivesamplingorthemarchofthequadrats. 3
1.2 Theresearchcycle. 10
2.1 Aproblemofusingsystematicsamplinginarealsurveys. 22
2.2 Stepsintheundertakingofasamplesurvey. 27
2.3 Choosingacriterionfordividingapopulationintostrata. 31
2.4 Contrastbetweentheefficiencyoffour1kmsquaresandone
2kmsquare. 32
2.5 Exampleoftheselectionofappssampleofprimaryunits. 35
2.6 Examplesofneighbourhoodsinadaptiveclustersampling. 35
2.7 Exampleofanadaptivesample. 36
2.8 Exampleofadaptivesampling,usingtransectsasinitialunits. 37
3.1 Therelationshipbetweentargetpopulation,sampled
populationandsample. 42
3.2 Seriationoffirst-centuryADpotteryfromSilchester. 44
3.3 QuantifiedsourcesofpotteryimportedintoRomanBritain. 45
3.4 Correspondenceanalysisplotoftypesofartefactandtypesof
siteinmedievalWinchester. 46
3.5 ComparisonofthechronologicalprofilesofRomancoin
assemblages. 49
3.6 Theeffectsofusingsherdcountandweightinthecomparison
ofceramicassemblages. 52
3.7 Comparisonofassemblagessurvivinginandbelowthe
plough-zone. 59
3.8 Effectofseriesofploughingeventsonspatialdistributionof
surfaceartefacts. 64
3.9 Effectsofdifferentialsurvival/retrievalratesoncomparisons
betweenproportionofdifferenttypesindifferentassemblages. 65
4.1 FieldwalkingatBullockDown,Sussex. 72
4.2 Comparisonofsampletransectsandfieldsactuallywalkedin
theEastHampshireSurvey. 82
4.3 SampledesignforMelosSurvey. 86
4.4 SampledesignforAgroPontinoSurvey. 87
4.5 SampledesignfortheChevelonArchaeologicalResearch
Project. 88
4.6 SampledesignfortheBifernoValleySurvey. 89
vi
Listofillustrations vii
4.7 Threepossiblegridsforlocatingtest-pits. 91
4.8 Therelationshipbetweentheratioofsitediametertogrid
intervalandtheprobabilityofdiscoveringasite. 92
4.9 Networksforfirstadaptivesamplingexperimenton
Valdefloresdataandexampleofasampleofunits. 95
4.10 Networksforsecondandsubsequentadaptivesampling
experimentsonValdefloresdataandexampleofasampleof
units. 97
4.11 EastHampshireSurveylocationmap. 102
4.12 ShapwickParishSurveylocationmap. 104
4.13 Graphofrateofcollectionofartefactsbywalkersin
five-minute‘stints’. 106
4.14 SampleofunitsselectedfortheMonumentsatRiskSurvey. 110
5.1 TrialtrenchingatHawkingeAerodrome,nearFolkestone,
Kent,bytheuseofJCBs. 117
5.2 Test-pittingontherouteoftheBrightonbypass,Sussex. 118
5.3 NewburySewageWorks,Thatcham,Berkshire:schematic
planofevaluation. 123
5.4 NewburySewageWorks,siteintersectionanddetection
probabilitiesforarangeoftest-pitsizes. 124
5.5 CharnhamLane,Hungerford,Berkshire:schematicplanof
evaluation. 125
5.6 CharnhamLane,Hungerford,Berkshire,siteintersectionand
detectionprobabilitiesforarangeoftest-pitsizes. 125
5.7 CharnhamLane,Hungerford,Berkshire,theprobabilityof
detectingvariousnumbersofsitesforarangeoftest-pitsizes. 126
5.8 Averagenumberofsamplingunitsrequiredfor‘discovery’of
itemclassesin‘smallsites’samplingasderivedfromthe
NegativeHypergeometricdistribution. 130
5.9 Probabilityofatleastoneunitcontainingtheitemclassof
interestforvarioussamplesizes,wheretheitemclassoccursin
1,2,5,10and20%ofthesamplingunitsinthepopulation,for
agridof625units. 131
5.10 Augeringtoestablishtheextentofpeatdepositsat
Shinewater,nearEastbourne,Sussex. 132
5.11 Polarsampleofthirty-twounits. 133
5.12 NetworksforadaptivesamplingexperimentonLasleyVore
dataandexampleofasampleofunits. 134
5.13 Specimen20%randomsamplingofChaltonsiteusing8mby
8mquadrats. 137
5.14 Plotoftheestimatesoftherelativeproportionofsheep/goat
inthefaunalassemblageatsite2001,obtainedbysimulated
excavations. 139
viii Listofillustrations
5.15 Gainhistogramfortwentysimulatedrunsbasedonrandom
samplesof5mby5msquares. 140
5.16 Three-stageexcavationprogrammeatShooflyVillage,
Arizona. 144
5.17 ResultsofwallclearingandlocationofexcavationsatPueblo
delosMuertos,NewMexico. 145
5.18 Locationofexcavationsselectedbyaprobabilitysampleand
byjudgementatQsares-Seghir,Morocco. 146
6.1 Graphshowingthelogarithmofthefrequencyofbonesof
differentlengthsplottedagainstthelength. 151
6.2 Wet-sievingatBignorRomanvilla,Sussex. 155
6.3 FlotationtankinuseatPevensey,Sussex. 156
6.4 ColumnsamplingforpollenanalysisatShinewater,near
Eastbourne,Sussex. 157
6.5 Proportionsofdifferentspeciesobtainedbycumulative
sampling. 158
6.6 Graphshowingproportionsofdifferentclassesofbones
retrievedonmeshesofvarioussizes. 164
6.7 Illustrationofthecreationofbiasbysamplingatdifferent
ratesfromdifferentpartsofanirregularfeature. 168
6.8 ComparisonofcorrespondenceanalysisplotofWinchester
smallfindsbycenturieswithmultiplepiechartsofthesame
data. 170
6.9 Graphshowingnumberofspeciesidentifiedassamplesizes
increase. 173
6.10 Computersimulationofnumberoftypesofobjectidentified
insamplesofincreasingsize,comparedtositedata. 174
6.11 Exampleofrarefactionanalysis. 175
7.1 Comparisonofarea-,line-,point-andribbon-counting. 186
7.2 Meandiametersandrangesofmeansforsubsetsforvarious
grainselectiontechniques. 187
7.3 Comparisonofempiricalfrequencydistributionwitha
correspondingsmoothedfrequencydistribution. 188
7.4 Reproducibilityofrepeatedmeasurementsofgrainsusing
D andD . 189
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3) (cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:7)(cid:8)
8.1 SchematicrepresentationofaMarkovchainanditstransition
probabilities. 196
8.2 Exampleofarecordingformforacollectionconditionsurvey. 198
8.3 Organisationofastoreintoprimaryunitsandobjects,orinto
primaryunits,secondaryunitsandobjects. 199
8.4 Systematicsamplingbydefininga‘route’tobetakenthrough
acollection. 201
8.5 DesignandprecisionoftheMuseumofLondonSocial
Historycollectionsurvey. 205
TABLES
3.1 NumbersoffindsfromexcavationsinmedievalWinchester,
byfindtypeandcontextdate 50
4.1 Relativecostsoffieldwalkingandvariousformsofsub-surface
survey 81
4.2 Structureofnetworksforfirstadaptivesamplingexperiment 94
4.3 Outcomeoffirstadaptivesamplingexperiment 94
4.4 Structureofnetworksforsecondandthirdadaptivesampling
experiments 96
4.5 Outcomeofsecondadaptivesamplingexperiment 96
4.6 Outcomeofthirdadaptivesamplingexperiment 96
5.1 Summaryofpossibleoutcomesofanassessmentexercise 119
5.2 Structureofnetworksforadaptivesamplingexperiment 134
5.3 Outcomeofadaptivesamplingexperiment,comparedwith
simplerandomsampling 135
6.1 Thedifferentsortsofinformationthatcanbeobtainedfrom
theanalysisofdifferentsortsofmaterialobtainedfrom
soil-sampling 162
6.2 Percentagesbyweightofdifferenttypesoffaunalremains
retrievedonmeshesofvarioussizesatearlymedieval
Dorestad 165
ix