Definition: American archaeologist Stanley A. South, currently at the University of South Carolina, has advanced the study of historical archaeology in the application of statistics. His pioneering 'mean ceramic date' technique uses the statistic method of central tendency to determine the age of a historic occupation based on the average date of all the ceramic sherds in it.
South also pioneered the use of pattern analysis in historical archaeology, dividing an artifact assemblage into meaningful subsets (kitchen, clothing, architectural group).
South also pioneered the use of pattern analysis in historical archaeology, dividing an artifact assemblage into meaningful subsets (kitchen, clothing, architectural group).
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
