At 6:55 PM -0700 8/25/03, Praetzellis wrote:
>
>I never did understand what more a mean date could tell us about a
>location that was occupied for a long period of time or by several
>groups or activities sequencially other than some kind of mid-point
>of the occupation.

Adrian:

As you state the issue, you are correct.  A mean date for the total
collection from a long-occupied site is gibberish.

For an isolated site with limited occupation, mean date is one of the
many useful numbers.  TPQ is another.  The weighted ceramic date
suggested by Turnbaugh and Turnbaugh is another.  William Hampton
Adams in a recent article has suggested some ways to consider such
factors as life cycle in the presence of formulaic dating.

Combined with such tools as the Harris matrix, Stan South's formula
enriches the mix.

But mean ceramic date is not a holy object to be placed on a shelf
and venerated.


--
Ned @ Heite.org

You know you're in trouble
when your idea of excitement
is the way the receipt pops
jauntily, even with gay abandon,
from the slot in the ATM machine.