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Statistics for Archaeologists

A Commonsense Approach

  • Book
  • © 1996

Overview

Authors:
  1. Robert D. Drennan

    1. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

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Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology (IDCA)

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  2. Numerical Exploration

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Batches of Numbers

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 3-16

    3. The Level, or Center, of a Batch

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 17-26

    4. The Spread, or Dispersion, of a Batch

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 27-37

    5. Comparing Batches

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 39-52

    6. The Shape, or Distribution, of a Batch

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 53-64

    7. Categories

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 65-76

  3. Random Sampling

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 77-77
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    2. Samples and Populations

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 79-97

    3. Different Samples from the Same Population

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 99-109

    4. Confidence and Population Means

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 111-138

    5. Categories and Population Proportions

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 139-145

  4. Relationships between Two Variables

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 147-147
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    2. Comparing Two Sample Means

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 149-166

    3. Comparing Means of More Than Two Samples

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 167-184

    4. Comparing Proportions of Different Samples

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 185-202

    5. Relating a Measurement Variable to Another Measurement Variable

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 203-226

    6. Relating Ranks

      • Robert D. Drennan
      Pages 227-234

  5. Special Topics in Sampling

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 235-235
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Keywords

About this book

This book is intended as an introduction to basic statistical principles and techniques for the archaeologist. It grows primarily from my experience in teaching courses in quantitative analysis for undergraduate and graduate stu­ dents in archaeology over a number of years. The book is set specifically in the context of archaeology, not because the issues dealt with are uniquely archaeological in nature, but because many people find it much easier to understand quantitative analysis in a familiar context-one in which they can readily understand the nature of the data and the utility of the tech­ niques. The principles and techniques, however, are all of much broader applicability. Physical anthropologists, cultural anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, and speCialists in other fields make use of these same principles and techniques. The particular mix of topics, the rela­ tive emphasis given them, and the exact approach taken here, however, do reflect my own view of what is most useful in the analysis of specifically archaeological data. It is impossible to fail to notice that many aspects of archaeological information are numerical and that archaeological analysis has an unavoid­ ably quantitative component. Standard statistical approaches are commonly applied in straightforward as well as unusual and ingenious ways to archae­ ological problems, and new approaches have been invented to cope with the speCial qUirks of archaeological analysis. The literature on quantitative analy­ sis in archaeology has grown to prodigious size in the past 25 or 30 years.

Reviews

Praise for the first edition:

“Robert Drennan has done the field a great service.” (Larry R. Kimball, American Antiquity, Vol 62 (1997)

"There is a great deal to recommend this book.... It is written in an engaging style...and it is consistently focused on the practical problems of archaeological analysis." (Robert E. Dewar, SAS Bulletin, July 1997)

"...this book is highly recommended." (Gary Lock, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol 101 (1997)

"I will use this book when I teach statistics in the future, and I will gladly recommend it to others." (Randall McGuire, Historical Archaeology, Vol 32 (1998)

"an excellent introductory textbook ...introducing complex ideas on statistics to students in a practical, non-threatening way.... [It] will help us to train our students to be better consumers of the statistical analyses they must deal with throughout their careers." (Mark Aldendorfer, Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol 25 (1998)

“Robert Drennan has done the field a great service.” (American Antiquity)

“Statistics for Archaeologists effectively integrates both traditional statistical methods and more recent techniques of exploratory data analysis (EDA)...One of the major strengths of this book is its emphasis on sampling...Drennan has produced a usable and insightful statistics text.” (Journal of Field Archaeology, 1998)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

    Robert D. Drennan

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