Estimating the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) For Skeletal Collections – With Consideration to the Introduction of Procurement Bias
Faculty Mentor
Michael Zukosky
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
10-5-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 10:45 AM
Location
PUB NCR
Department
Anthropology
Abstract
Of the competing methods for the estimation of the number of individuals represented within a skeletal assemblage, variations of the calculation of MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals) are most often employed. This presentation provides the preliminary results of an exhaustive study conducted to determine the minimum number of individuals represented within a collection of 1,065 skeletal elements. Established methods for the calculation of MNI often take into account the effects of taphonomic and depositional factors, as well as additional variables that may otherwise influence the estimation, such as the association of paired elements. Provided that the assemblage in question is largely disassociated and is comprised of remains sourced from numerous, unknown contexts, traditional methods of computation were altered to suit the needs of the study. Counts were collected for forty-two skeletal elements within the body representing both paired and singular elements. Separate counts were obtained for intact and fragmented remains under the OARD (Open Access Research Data) designation. In doing so, a noteworthy observation was made; there exists a strong bias toward “lefts”. This was determined to be the result of procurement practices. Often, when remains are procured for university teaching collections, skeletal elements are purchased separately, or occasionally in pairs. Unless the body is articulated – such as in the case of ‘standing skeletons’ – it is unlikely that the remains of a single individual will be purchased in their entirety. The implications of the introduction of Procurement Bias in the calculation of MNI are further explored within this presentation.
Recommended Citation
Dyess, Elizabeth and Heil, T., "Estimating the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) For Skeletal Collections – With Consideration to the Introduction of Procurement Bias" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 29.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/p1_2023/29
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Estimating the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) For Skeletal Collections – With Consideration to the Introduction of Procurement Bias
PUB NCR
Of the competing methods for the estimation of the number of individuals represented within a skeletal assemblage, variations of the calculation of MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals) are most often employed. This presentation provides the preliminary results of an exhaustive study conducted to determine the minimum number of individuals represented within a collection of 1,065 skeletal elements. Established methods for the calculation of MNI often take into account the effects of taphonomic and depositional factors, as well as additional variables that may otherwise influence the estimation, such as the association of paired elements. Provided that the assemblage in question is largely disassociated and is comprised of remains sourced from numerous, unknown contexts, traditional methods of computation were altered to suit the needs of the study. Counts were collected for forty-two skeletal elements within the body representing both paired and singular elements. Separate counts were obtained for intact and fragmented remains under the OARD (Open Access Research Data) designation. In doing so, a noteworthy observation was made; there exists a strong bias toward “lefts”. This was determined to be the result of procurement practices. Often, when remains are procured for university teaching collections, skeletal elements are purchased separately, or occasionally in pairs. Unless the body is articulated – such as in the case of ‘standing skeletons’ – it is unlikely that the remains of a single individual will be purchased in their entirety. The implications of the introduction of Procurement Bias in the calculation of MNI are further explored within this presentation.
