Three collections of spindle whorls from Calixtlahuaca, Mexico

Creator(s): Angela Huster

Year: 2013

Summary

This dataset consists of a single spreadsheet of standard metric and non-metric data for three collections of spindle whorls from the Postclassic site of Calixtlahuaca, Toluca Valley (State of Mexico), Mexico. The collections are from the 2007 Calixtlahuaca Archaeological Project excavations, the Museo de Antropología y Historia in Toluca Mexico, and the Yale Peabody. This dataset accompanies the following article:

Huster, Angela C.

2013 Assessing Systematic Bias in Museum Collections: A Case Study of Spindle Whorls. Advances in Archaeological Practice 1(2):77-90.

Below is the abstract for this article:

Archaeologists often overlook museum collections for research purposes due to concerns about the representativeness of the artifacts in the collection. Such concerns can be addressed by comparing non-scientifically produced collections to collections of known standing, such as those from more modern projects, using the same exploratory data analysis and basic statistical methods that archaeologists use to compare sets of artifacts in other situations. As a case study, this article compares spindle whorls recovered during the 2007 excavations at the Aztec site of Calixtlahuaca with two museum collections of whorls attributed to the site. A variety of metric and non-metric traits were recorded for each item in the three collections and were compared using Kolmogrov-Smirnov, Chi-square, and Fisher’s exact tests. Both museum collections show a bias toward more elaborately decorated pieces, but with varying side effects on other attributes of analytical interest.

Cite this Record

Three collections of spindle whorls from Calixtlahuaca, Mexico. Angela Huster. 2013 ( tDAR id: 391587) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8K35VHM

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Data Set Structure

Measurement Column
Count Column
Coded Column
Filename Column
Integration Column (has Ontology)

Table Information: Calixtlahuaca Whorl Data

Column Name Data Type Type Category Coding Sheet Ontology Search
Collection Collection – Which of the three studied collections the pieces belongs to. 1- Excavated 2-Toluca 3-Peabody
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Lookup : Code none none true
Catalog # Catalog number – The relevant catalog number(s) for each piece at the curating institution. For the Excavated collection, these are W-###, with numbers assigned continuously in the order of discovery of pieces. For the Toluca and Peabody collections, these are the internal accession and cataloging numbers. Due to historical processes, some pieces have been numbered using multiple systems and this is noted as appropriate.
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Lookup : Code none none true
Catalog #, Alternate Any additional or old catalog numbers for the whorl.
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Lookup : Code none none true
Weight, raw Weight, raw – The actual weight of the whorl or whorl fragment, measured to the nearest gram using an electric balance.
DOUBLE  Measurement (gram) Ceramic : Weight none none true
%Complete Percent complete – The percentage of the whorl present, estimated to the nearest 5%.
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Ceramic : Other none none true
Weight,calibrated Weight, calibrated – The calculated original weight of the whorl, based on the raw weight and the percent of the piece present.
DOUBLE  Measurement (gram) Ceramic : Weight none none true
Max. Height Height - The maximum original height of the whorl
BIGINT  Measurement (millimeter) Ceramic : Measurement none none true
Max. Diameter Diameter - The maximum original diameter of the whorl
BIGINT  Measurement (millimeter) Ceramic : Measurement none none true
Hole Diameter Hole Diameter – The maximum original diameter of the hole through the center of the whorl
DOUBLE  Measurement (millimeter) Ceramic : Measurement none none true
Form Ratio Form Ratio – The maximum height divided by the maximum diameter. This provides a rough estimate of the shape of the whorl.
DOUBLE  Uncoded Value Ceramic : Form none none true
Form Form – A general, non-metric description of the shape of the whorl. For cotton whorls, the form codes are: TC - truncated cone - fairly shallow cone FD- flat disk w/ width more than 2x height FH- flattened hemisphere w/ width more than 2x height HM- hemisphere w/ width less than 2x height CN-cone CP- composite- flared top or bottom UN – unknown
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Ceramic : Form none none true
Fiber Fiber – The type of fiber that the whorl was likely used to spin. Mary Parsons’ work (Parsons and Parsons 1990; Parsons 1972) is used to provide general weight-based categories, with borderline cases assigned based on general form and style similarities. C- Cotton M – Maguey
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Ceramic : Other none none true
Revised Decoration Decoration – The general method of decoration 0- eroded 1- plain 2- simple dec, hand incised 3 - simple dec, molded 4 - complex dec, hand incised 5 - complex dec, molded 6 - stamped 7 - punctate 8 - high relief, molded 9 – other
BIGINT  Uncoded Value Ceramic : Surface Treatment none none true
Comment Other observations or notes about the whorl
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value Lookup : Notes none none true

Table Information: Metadata

Column Name Data Type Type Category Coding Sheet Ontology Search
Variable This page provides general metadata on the datasheet
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Data States This page provides general metadata on the datasheet
VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true

Keywords

Culture
Aztec • Aztec Period • Matlatzinca

Material
Ceramic

Site Name
Calixtlahuaca

Site Type
Town / City

Investigation Types
Collections Research • Data Recovery / Excavation • Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis

General
Aztec • Calixtlahuaca • Museum Collection • Spindle Whorls

Geographic Keywords
Calixtlahuaca • Mexico • Mexico (Mexico) • State of Mexico • Toluca • Toluca Valley

Temporal Keywords
Late Aztec • Late Postclassic • Middle Postclassic • Postclassic

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1100 to 1530 (AD)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -99.783; min lat: 19.257 ; max long: -99.619; max lat: 19.394 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contributor(s): Angela Huster

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
CalixtlahuacaWhorlsForTDAR.xlsx 76.98kb Oct 7, 2013 3:24:42 PM Public
  • Translated version CalixtlahuacaWhorlsForTDAR_translated.xls (187.00kb)
    Data column(s) in this dataset have been associated with coding sheet(s) and translated:

    • This Resource is Part of the Following User Created Collections