Session: #212

Regular session

In recent years, the use of isotope analyses in archaeological research has grown exponentially. Additionally, the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of research has allowed us to borrow analytical tools from many other fields, greatly expanding our analytical capacity. Utilising more isotope systems has also facilitated answering a larger range of archaeological questions. One particularly important improvement is the significant decrease in analytical costs for isotopic analyses, enabling larger and larger sample sizes to be generated within a single study. With bigger data sets, and a growing emphasis on “big data analysis”, new mathematical approaches are needed to help unleash the full potential of such datasets. Archaeologists now realise there is a need to move away from using only summary statistics, and take advantage of newer analytical toolkits to help better interpret their data. A few examples of these toolkits include, but are not limited to: area metrics (convex hulls and/or standard ellipses), mixing models, circular statistics, and isotopic niche space analysis. This session seeks to bring together papers presenting research exploring or utilising various quantitative methods used in isotopic archaeology. We especially welcome contributions discussing the applicability of novel quantitative methods in answering different archaeological questions, and more general applications of such methods in various archaeological contexts.

Isotope, Mixing models, Variability metrics, Palaeodiet, Palaeomobility

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Christina Cheung () ¹

Paul Szpak (Canada) ²