Quantitative Mortuary Patterns ExerciseBurial Practices and Social Status at the Valley of the Mummies Cemetery

Our research team has completed the investigation of a small cemetery in the coastal ecological zone of the Valley of the Mummies. Forty-three burials were excavated in this cemetery and have been identified with Period 1 hunter gatherer populations. Excavations recovered data on the sex of the buried person, their age at death, and the number of artifacts with which they were buried. The following chart organizes this data. In this exercise, you will use this data to analyze and interpret difference in sex, age, and status evident at this cemetery and create a report of your findings. Refer to the Instructions Sheet on page 3 for further guidelines regarding the report. Refer to the Grading Rubric on page 4 for a detailed breakdown of how your grade will be assessed.

Burial ID Sex Age at Death Artifacts Burial ID Sex Age at Death Artifacts2 Male 11 4 10 Female 10 4

12 Male 13 4 7 Female 14 324 Male 15 5 22 Female 16 515 Male 18 5 31 Female 18 426 Male 18 6 34 Female 18 613 Male 20 7 11 Female 20 732 Male 20 63 17 Female 20 79 Male 22 6 38 Female 20 10

36 Male 22 8 19 Female 21 81 Male 28 8 35 Female 23 133 Male 28 7 33 Female 24 198 Male 30 9 25 Female 30 21

37 Male 30 8 30 Female 35 206 Male 32 10 39 Female 27 48

18 Male 33 57 27 Female 40 1323 Male 35 9 40 Female 43 1020 Male 40 13 28 Female 45 721 Male 40 50 41 Female 50 914 Male 45 15 44 Female 59 7516 Male 48 25 5 Female 60 604 Male 55 18 42 Female 62 7

29 Female 70 10

1

Mortuary Patterns of the Valley of the Mummies Cemetery(5 points per task, 25 total points)

With the data provided, you will be using Excel software to create graphs. If you are unfamiliar with Excel, refer to the Instruction Sheet on page 3 for information on tutorials. All graphs or plots created for this assignment must be presented with a title and axis labels. When a task requires written discussion, your response should be informative and clearly expressed, using a few sentences (you should write no more than a single paragraph).

Tasks 1. Create a scatter plot examining the burials of males. Plot the number of artifacts on the vertical axis and age at death on the horizontal axis.

Task 2. Create a scatter plot examining the burials of females. Plot the number of artifacts on the vertical axis and age at death on the horizontal axis.

Task 3. In a few sentences, describe the trend(s) you see in each scatter plot. (Make sure to discuss how the data is distributed in the graph and any patterns or exceptions to a pattern.)

Task 4. In a few sentences, summarize how the mortuary treatment of males contrasts with that of females as age at death increases based on the trends you described in Task 3. Be sure to specifically reference data from the graph and how it supports your interpretations.

Task 5. Explain the differences you see in male and female mortuary treatments. A complete response will incorporate direct evidence plotted in the scatter plots and will include a discussion of the concept of social status, based on lectures and readings.

2

Instruction Sheet: Quantitative Mortuary Patterns Exercise

Be sure to follow all specific instructions provided for each task on page 2.

Excel Help:If you are unfamiliar with Excel software or need a refresher on how to create graphs and plots in excel, go to the following website: http://qlp.utsa.edu/faculty/tutorials/There you will find step-by-step tutorials for several different aspects of Excel.

**HINT: Make sure that the data you use to create the scatter plots (found in the chart on page 1) are entered correctly into Excel. You can find an electronic version of this assignment on Blackboard. From that document you can copy and paste the data chart into Excel to ensure that you use the correct data. If the data are not correct, you will not be able to create correct scatter plots. Incorrect scatter plots will result in incorrect interpretations.

Report Guidelines: All written portions of the assignment should be in complete sentences and in 12 pt

legible font (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri, etc.) Please pay attention to grammar and punctuation. Always make sure that each new task is labeled and easy to recognize in the document

(ex. Task 1 or Task 3) Always organize the Tasks in the order that they appear in the directions. This means

that you will need to integrate the table and scatter plots you make in Excel into your Word document in the appropriate places.

DO NOT hand-draw the scatter plots. Use Excel software (available on all campus computers) to create the scatter plots.

Specific guidelines for scatter plots:o Titles should explain all the information provided in the grapho All axes should be labeled clearly and appropriatelyo Keeping the scales of each scatter plot consistent as you integrate them into the

word document will make for better representations from which you can make informed interpretations.

3

Quantitative Mortuary Patterns Exercise – Grading Rubric

5 Points 3 Points 1 Point

Task 1 Graph is correct; all elements included (x/y labels, meaningful title).

Either graph is incorrectly plotted or labels are missing.

Data in graph is incorrect; title and axis labels are missing

Task 2 Graph is correct; all elements included (x/y labels, meaningful title).

Either graph is incorrectly plotted or labels are missing.

Data in graph is incorrect; title and axis labels are missing

Task 3 Plot is fully described noting overall trend vs. outliers. Few editing problems; text is clearly written

Plot is adequately represented though outliers are not clearly distinguished from general trend of graph. Text has some editing problems; is somewhat unclear and needs more than one reading.

Plot is misrepresented. Excessive editing errors, text is unclear

Task 4 Difference between male and female patterns is correct and fully developed. Few editing problems, text is clearly written.

Difference between male and female patterns is correct but not well developed. Text has editing problems; is unclear and needs more than one reading to understand.

Difference between male and female patterns is misrepresented; excessive editing errors, text is unclear.

Task 5 Clear understanding of social status and significance of outliers; argument is clearly developed. Few editing problems, text is clear.

Basic recognition of social status. However, argument needs clarification. Text has editing problems; is unclear and requires more than one reading.

Does not distinguish underlying social status distinctions. Excessive editing errors, text is unclear.

4

Total Score:(out of 25)

Total Percentage Grade: _____ / 25 = ________ %