Identifying Depositional Processes: Statistical Cluster Analysis at Sacred Ridge

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Continued Advances in Method and Theory for Commingled Remains" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Site of Sacred Ridge has the earliest identified Extreme Processing assemblage in the four corners region, with over 14,000 fragments of human bone (representing at least 33 individuals) deposited in two pit structures around AD 810. During excavation, over 9,000 point locations were taken with a total station. During analysis, all fragments were examined with the goal of bone identification, estimation of demographic information (age at death, sex), and identification of taphonomic indicators. These fragments were then subjected to a refitting exercise, resulting in a refit rate of approximately 35%. This presentation will examine the depositional patterns of these refits utilizing a Monte Carlo approach to simulate random mixing. We identified four clusters that could be identified as potentially representing depositional actions (such as the deposition of a basket of bone fragments). We quantified within/between cluster refits using Simpson’s Diversity index, and we found that refits tend to occur within clusters, particularly for the long bones, suggesting that the body was processed based on element, further supporting the systematic nature of the body processing at Sacred Ridge.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Continued Advances in Method and Theory for Commingled Remains

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38153.0