THE STATISTICAL-ANALYSIS OF ARTIFACTS IN GRAVES - PRESENCE AND ABSENCE DATA

The analysis of artefacts found in burials is discussed in terms of th e presence and absence of particular types, with some emphasis on new computer intensive methods of analysis. The questions addressed concer n whether the artefact distribution appears to be random, the relation ships between the different burials, the relationships between the dif ferent types of artefact, and whether the artefacts present in burials are related to sex and age. To focus the discussion, data from Khok P hanom Di, a Neolithic cemetery, are used for an example. There is evid ence that co-occurrences of different artefacts are not what is expect ed from a null model of randomness, there are clear patterns in relati onships between both burials and different types of artefact, and the proportional occurrence of different artefacts varies with the sex and age of the deceased. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited