Novel Statistical Techniques in Archaeology I (QUANTARCH I)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Novel Statistical Techniques in Archaeology I (QUANTARCH I)," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Statistical data modeling is fundamental to archaeological inquiry. This type of modeling is applicable to all research questions, and serves to evaluate how well archaeological observations support theoretical expectations. Pioneering archaeological questions, however, are not always answerable with standard techniques – requiring development of innovative modeling methods. The purpose of this symposium is to exhibit the range of cutting-edge analytical techniques advanced to evaluate novel archaeological hypotheses. Symposium participants answer groundbreaking archaeological hypotheses regarding cultural variability by developing or adapting a wide range of analytical modeling methods derived from computational, mathematical, spatial, statistical, and graphical approaches. In their abstracts and presentations, symposium presenters address archaeological questions across diverse sub-disciplines, geographical regions, and temporal ranges. These symposium presentations are explicit about 1) why the novel technique required development or adoption and 2) the impact of these new methods on their respective field. All participants of the Society for American Archaeology meeting are encouraged to attend this symposium, as it will give them the chance to become aware of analytical advancements potentially applicable to their individual specializations.