Quantifying Archaeology

by Stephen Shennan

Quantitative reasoning is central to quantitative methods are a vital part of every archaeologist's mental tool kit. This new edition of Stephen Shennan's extremely popular textbook introduces students to the basic quantitative methods used within the discipline as well as some of the more advanced methods.
Shennan explains the relevant areas of statistics in terms easily assimilated by archaeology students; instead of introducing statistics as it is taught in other disciplines, he draws his working examples from archaeological sources. Exercises at the end of each chapter also directly relate to issues likely to arise within the study of archaeology.

Genres: Archaeology, Science

364 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[Elise Ravenclaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to statistics for the archaeologist. However, since the book is supposed to be a quick glance of what tools can be used by archaeologists, there comes a time that the non specialist, or student, (or at least me!) gets confused if he/she reads it without the proper guidance.
I had already taken a couple of statistic courses, and must admit that I was pretty lost from chapter 10 to 13.
It helped me to refresh some knowledge, gain some more and be aware of the debate around the use of some techniques in the specific field of archaeology.
I read the Spanish translation of the book, entitled: Arqueología Cuantitativa, 1992, editorial Crítica, Barcelona.