THE BAYESIAN APPROACH TO THE INTERPRETATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

Archaeologists are increasingly becoming aware of an approach to data investigation known as Bayesian statistics. In this paper we outline both the philosophical and statistical background to the approach. We show that it provides a logical and coherent framework in which to make inferences on the basis of both data and a priori expert knowledge. We note that adoption of the Bayesian framework is particularly timely since there have been recent dramatic developments in numerical methods which mean that a number of previous implementation problems have now been solved. As a result, many questions of archaeological interest, which require the use of complex statistical models, are being investigated using this methodology. We use a variety of recently published examples from a range of archaeological areas to illustrate the type of questions that can be answered and the nature of the methodologies used, and we make comparisons with the results obtained using more traditional statistical techniques.     

Maize and Bone: Residues of Grinding in Northwestern Argentina*

Archaeometric and archaeobotanical analyses of grinding residues inside an archaeological milling stone tool from the Cueva de los Corrales 1 site in northwestern Argentina are shown. Multiple analytical techniques are used to identify ground substances, and their results are compared and complemented. They give direct and reliable evidence of maize (Zea mays L.) and burned bone grinding in the pre‐hispanic Argentine north‐west, although the latter is little related to milling tasks.     

Last Meals: Recovering Abdominal Contents From Skeletonized Remains

Excavation and analysis of human remains is becoming a polarized field in anthropology; it is therefore necessary to consider alternate avenues of data collection from these features to maximize their potential. The analysis of abdominal soils for digestive tract contents is consistently overlooked in research designs. Two previous studies have attempted to recover abdominal contents through systematic sampling methods using multiple inhumations and two others have recovered colon contents in isolated instances. This research briefly familiarizes the reader with current state of investigation, and then proposes and tests a different method to recover abdominal contents in skeletonized inhumations. Using this method, more than 70% of the sampled inhumations yielded data on ingested botanical products. Though recovered, faunal remains were rare. The implications of recovery, some interpretations for each population, and avenues of future research are considered.