Quantitative Methods in Anthropology

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. COURSE OVERVIEW. Presents practical training in statistics applicable to anthropological and archaeological data. Provides anthropology students with the sophisticated statistical skills needed for an increasingly quantitative field. Discusses reasons why anthropological and archaeological data does not always meet the criteria set by many formal statistical models. Teaches the methods to analyze the chronological, geographic, morphometric, demographic, phylogenetic, genetic, linguistic, network/interaction and observational datasets (among others) that pose unique challenges for both analysis and interpretation. Conducts scientific statistical analyses of these datasets. Applies statistical concepts and techniques to real and hypothetical anthropological or archaeological problems during weekly lab sections. TOPICS AND THEMES. Quantitative analytical methods employed by anthropologists; includes statistical analyses, statistical software and sampling theory commonly used in anthropological research. Graphical techniques and statistics specific to anthropological datasets and research questions, including exploratory data analysis (e.g. principal components, canonical variates, factor analysis), and other multivariate methods (e.g. MANOVA). This course may incorporate topics that respond to current events, student interests or emerging issues relevant to anthropology. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification; STAT 302 or STAT 303 .