Statistical tool for dating and interpreting archaeological contexts using pottery

Analyzing chronological patterns is one of the major issues in archaeology. How can the date of a specific context be estimated? Is it possible to identify residual and intrusive material in it at the same time? Numerous statistical methodological approaches have been developed and implemented to estimate dates but have less often addressed the issue of socio-economic area or the functional interpretation of contexts. This article deals with the construction and analysis of two different probability estimate density curves of context dates using pottery. By contrasting the two curves we can define the boundaries of the socio-economic area and make a chrono-functional interpretation of a context. This statistical tool allows the archaeologist to visualize and analyze chronological patterns easily. The method is applied to the analysis of contexts in the town of Tours in particular and more generally in the centre-west of France, based on collected pottery finds.