Representative Samples and Method Calibration for Lithic Microwear Interpretation frameworks

Summary

This paper builds on discussion of combined blind-test datasets for lithic microwear analysis method previously presented by the author (Evans 2014). A large randomly sampled assemblage, from the Mesolithic site of West Stainton in England, was analysed using traditional microwear analysis. The size of the assemblage may allow an investigation of variation of tool function within different classes. However predicted error rates from the combined blind-test dataset were used in monte carlo and bootstrapping algorithms that were run on the primary results from analysis. This paper discusses this experiment and impact of such probablistic modelling on microwear data when blind-test results are considered and presents this as a possible means of using blind-test data in a positive way to strengthen basic microwear data prior to interpretation.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Innovative Interpretive Approaches in Microwear and Residue Analyses

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