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Minimum Numbers and Sample Size in Vertebrate Faunal Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Donald K. Grayson
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Abstract

Of the measures currently available for quantifying the abundance of taxa within archaeological and paleontological vertebrate faunas, the minimum number of individuals per taxon is most frequently employed. This paper explores the relationship between the minimum number of individuals (MNI) calculated for a given taxon and the number of specimens (E) from which these values were calculated. Several approaches for controlling for the complex interrelationships between MNI and E are advanced and discussed.

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Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , January 1978 , pp. 53 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1978

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