Interpreting Coefficients of Variation in Archaeological Assessments of Cultural Transmission

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Old Technology, New Methodology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

To test hypothesized effects of cultural transmission on material cultural evolution, archaeologists primarily use the coefficient of variation (CV). Interpretation of archaeological CVs is necessarily comparative, and foundational papers have assessed variation across broad geographic regions, and relative to either theoretically-derived threshold CVs or computer-simulated “comparative collections.” Each approach has contributed to our understanding of both cultural transmission effects on material culture and CV as a means of quantifying these effects but, as this study shows, very different transmission scenarios can result in identical CVs. Here, I demonstrate near-identical CVs among projectile points produced by a single, highly skilled traditional knapper and points produced by many individuals over the course of 100 years at a site in the US Southwest. However, additional statistical analyses and a series of simulations show that, despite their symmetry and fine flaking, the individual’s points appear to have been produced randomly with respect to particular attribute values. Conversely, the Southwest points’ high degree of standardization may be a result of strong transmission biases. These results indicate that if CV is to remain the primary metric in the archaeological assessment of cultural transmission, we must further refine the approach, as through the simulation studies presented here.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Old Technology, New Methodology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36038.0