Quantification of stone artefact assemblages in Aotearoa New Zealand

Rebecca Phillipps*, Simon Holdaway, Matthew Barrett, Stacey Middleton, Joshua Emmitt

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    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 languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)28-42
    Number of pages15
    JournalJournal of Pacific Archaeology
    Volume13
    Issue number1
    Early online date12 May 2022
    Publication statusPublished - 2022

    Keywords

    • stone artefacts
    • assemblage analysis
    • quantitative archaeology
    • Aotearoa New Zealand

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