Addressing sample bias and representativeness at the Kinlock site (22SU526) a freshwater mussel shell ring in the Mississippi Delta

Author

Joseph Alan Mitchell

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Peacock, Evan

Committee Member

Hardin, James

Committee Member

Rafferty, Janet

Date of Degree

8-11-2012

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Applied Anthropology

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures

Abstract

Applied zooarchaeology provides baselines which can be used in modern conservation biology to better understand how faunal communities have changed over time. This goal can only be accomplished, however, by first accounting for the multiple biases present within the archaeological record, and how they may affect sample representativeness. Taxonomic analysis was conducted on freshwater mussel shell from the late prehistoric (ca. A.D. 700 - 1200) Kinlock site, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Species-area curves and biodiversity indices demonstrate that random sampling of surface clusters of shell, up to about 4,000 valves, provides an adequate picture of the overall surface assemblage. Comparison of surface and subsurface contexts shows a highly significant difference in species numbers and proportions, indicating a need for multi-context sampling when dealing with archaeological shell deposits.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20961

Recommended Citation

Mitchell, Joseph Alan, "Addressing sample bias and representativeness at the Kinlock site (22SU526) a freshwater mussel shell ring in the Mississippi Delta" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 385.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/385