Abstract
Many of the popular models of pre-European Maori settlement rely on the quantification of stone artefact abundance when made from different raw materials. Relative proportions of these materials provide the basis for inferences about mobility, trade and exchange, and social interactions. However, a number of methods for calculating artefact abundance exist with these reflecting different aspects of artefact completeness, fragmentation, and artefact assemblage formation. Using examples of artefact assemblages made from basalt, chert, and obsidian, from two sites in Te Ika-a-Maui, Aotearoa (North Island, New Zealand), different methods of calculating raw material proportions are explored including those based on frequency, size, and the technology of flake production. Measures of stone artefact assemblage completeness are then considered using artefact size distributions and comparisons with the Weibull and fractal power law distributions. We emphasise the differing goals of abundance measure calculations and the assumptions their uses entail.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 28-42 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Pacific Archaeology |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 12 May 2022 |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Keywords
- stone artefacts
- assemblage analysis
- quantitative archaeology
- Aotearoa New Zealand