Lecher, Alanna L

Mendes Cruz, Julie

Watson, April

English

Lynn University: SPIRAL (Scholarly Publications, Institutional Repository and Archives at Lynn)

• Dissimilarity between the artifact assemblages of each screen size ranged between 28.0% and 87.8%, within the feature dissimilarity was between 62.0% and 71.4%• Significantly more scales, fish spines, fish skull pieces, vertebra, leg bones, bird bones, and tooth/jaw in the 1/8” screen assemblages.• Diversity among different levels and screen sizes likely varied due to presence of scales and vertebra, which impacted artifact evenness overall.Quantitative Evaluation of Screen Size Choice on Artifact Assemblages in a South Florida MiddenJulie Mendes Cruz1 , Alanna L. Lecher1*, April Watson21Natural and Applied Sciences, Lynn University, 2Everglades National Park, *alecher@lynn.eduDepth PercentDissimilarity40-50 cm 28.050-60 cm* 66.160-70 cm* 62.070-80 cm* 71.480-90 cm 81.690-100 cm 87.8Table 1. Percent dissimilarity between bone artifacts collected in the 1/4” and 1/8” screens as calculated via Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, which accounts for number of artifact types and abundances of those artifacts.Richness Shannon Diversity Simpson Diversity EvennessDepth 1/4” 1/8” 1/4” 1/8” 1/4” 1/8” 1/4” 1/8”40-50 cm 3 5 0.85 1.25 1.98 2.37 0.77 0.7050-60 cm* 10 10 1.84 1.43 4.39 3.10 0.77 0.6060-70 cm * 14 15 1.59 1.41 2.68 2.42 0.60 0.5270-80 cm* 8 12 1.28 1.54 2.56 3.52 0.62 0.6280-90 cm 7 9 1.53 1.32 3.48 2.96 0.79 0.6090-100 cm 3 7 1.08 1.46 2.88 3.37 0.98 0.75Fig 1. Counts of bone types retained within the 1/4” and 1/8” screens. Counts are the total for the whole excavation, not by level. An asterisk represents a significant difference between the counts of the 1/4” and 1/8” screens and represents bone types that are at risk for under sampling with the 1/4” screen.Table 1: Artifact richness, diversity (Shannon Index & Simpson Index), and evenness for each level within the test unit. Results• Gordon, E. (1993). Screen Size and Differential Faunal Recovery: A Hawaiian Example. Journal Of Field Archaeology, 20(4), 453. doi: 10.2307/530074• Shaffer, B. (1992). Quarter-Inch Screening: Understanding Biases in Recovery of Vertebrate Faunal Remains. American Antiquity, 57(1), 129-136. doi: 10.2307/2694839• Shaffer, B., & Sanchez, J. (1994). Comparison of 1/8″- and 1/4″-Mesh Recovery of Controlled Samples of Small-to-Medium-Sized Mammals. American Antiquity, 59(3), 525-530. doi: 10.2307/282464• Stewart, K.M. and Wigen, R.J.(2003). Screen size and the need for reinterpretation: a case study from the northwest coast. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 44:27-34Conclusion• Samples were retrieved from South Inlet Park, Boca Raton, FL using a 1/8” screen and later passed through a ¼” screen. • Artifacts collected were sorted, counted, and weighed by unit and depth.• Assemblages were compared using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, two diversity indexes (Simpson and Shannon), richness, evenness, and t-test. Materials• The materials collected in an archeological site provide insight in palaeoecological patterns as well as in human trends (Gordon, 1993).• Researchers have pointed out that different sampling methods in the field can lead to biased results (Shaffer, 1992; Gordon, 1993).• Faunal representation and environmental reconstruction can be negatively impacted (Shaffer & Sanchez, 1994; Stewart & Wigen, 2003).• To understand this effect, artifacts were collected in South Florida using 1/8” screen sizes, passed through ¼” screen, and assemblages were compared and analyzed.• It was hypothesized that artifact retrieval in the field using 1/8” mesh size (would yield to better archeofaunal representation than when using the 1/4” screen size.IntroductionReferences AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank all members of the Archaeology lab at Lynn University, including faculty and students who participated in the long process of washing and categorizing the artifacts analyzed for this project. A special appreciation to Gabriel Acevedo, Maria De Almeida, and Taryn Lagor for helping me through it all.

Quantitative Evaluation of Screen Size Choice on Artifact Assemblages in a South Florida Midden

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Quantitative Evaluation of Screen Size Choice on Artifact Assemblages in a South Florida Midden

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