Artifact Density and Predictive Modeling in Old Kiyyangan Village

Summary

This presentation explores the possibility of predicting house pad footprints in the Old Kiyyangan Village, Ifugao, Philippines by looking at the density of artifacts in upper levels of excavation units. Knowing the artifact density in upper levels would help future excavations at the Old Kiyyangan Village site when digging new units. I hypothesize that there would be a higher artifact density between 30-50cm below datum in each trench which are on the edges of a house platform. In addition, I also argue that there will be a positive correlation with the relative density of artifacts in the upper levels to the density of similar artifacts in deeper levels. To test this hypothesis, I used the site accession record to calculate the estimated artifact density of earthenware ceramics between 30-50cm below datum. To calculate the density, I divided the total mass of the recovered earthenware ceramics in the relevant depth range by the estimated volume of sediment removed from those levels. Results of this analysis were then correlated with the presence or absence of intact earthenware ceramics – infant burial jars that indicate the center of a house platform.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16223