ANT 412 Archaeological Laboratory: Frequently Asked Questions

ANT 412Y
Updated 19 October 2004

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Rationale You will recall that I will not usually reply to your emails personally, unless they involve some question or problem particular to you. Instead, and especially if your question is relevant to other members of the class, I will post your question and my answer on this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.

Questions on Cemetery Report
I was thinking about seeing if there was any corelation between an individual's lifespan and their grave marker. i.e. If a person was given a more 'wealthy' headstone (bigger, more elaborate, more costly material etc.), did they also live longer? So I guess the ultimate question being asked is 'Did wealthy people live longer'?

This strikes me as a risky strategy. In a scientific analysis, successfully identifying interesting patterns or causal factors is usually a lot easier if you can hold as many variables constant as possible to isolate as best you can a single variable you are trying to explain. Here you will be mixing at least two variables in a way that adds uncontrollable error. You won't be absolutely certain that "elaborate" tombstones belong to rich people (or, more importantly, that "simple" ones do not); nor will you be certain that longevity has any straightforward relationship to wealth. Presumably the connection, if any, is a complicated one along the lines: wealth leads to better diet and health care, which leads to better overall health, which leads to longer life.

If you happen to find a relationship between tombstone elaboration and longevity, there are also many competing hypotheses that could equally explain it. For example, aside from the hypothesis that wealthy people are healthier and can afford better tombstones, I might suggest the hypothesis that older people usually have a larger pool of living relatives (children and grandchildren and maybe great-grandchildren), so there are more people pushing for a more elaborate monument. Another is that the deceased, whatever his or her economic status, simply had more time to invest in savings that ultimately contributed to funeral costs.

Furthermore, what will you do about cases where more than one person is listed on the tombstone, including individuals who died at quite different ages?

I think you'd be better off exploring only half your proposed hypothesis. Either investigate the question of whether wealthy people lived longer (using the birth and death dates on the grave markers and using City Directories and the like to find out the likely wealth category of the deceased), or investigating the relationship between wealth and gravestone cost (again using City Directories, Assessment Rolls, and other sources that provide clues to the deceased's financial status).

Questions on Property Report
I just had a quick question about referencing the city directories and assessment rolls for our property assignments. I looked at all the directories from 1834 to the present and have made reference to many of these in my paper. Do I need to make a separate bibliographic entry for each of the years or can I just list it as an archival collection? The same question applies to the assessment rolls.

You shouild cite the different directories separately, but you can abbreviate them in your citations (but not in the bibliography). For example, you might cite one as (CD 1834) in the text, and then in the bibliography give the full reference for the 1834 City Directory. Same goes for assessment rolls.

What form of referencing should we use?

Please use social-science format. I will enforce this strictly. For more information about this, see my web page on writing essays.

Holidays & Missed Classes

Last Update 12 October 2004


ANT 412Y		Updated 19 October 2004
Your Questions		Updated 19 October 2004

Rationale		You will recall that I will not usually reply to your emails personally, unless they involve some question or problem particular to you. Instead, and especially if your question is relevant to other members of the class, I will post your question and my answer on this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.


Questions on Cemetery Report		I was thinking about seeing if there was any corelation between an individual's lifespan and their grave marker. i.e. If a person was given a more 'wealthy' headstone (bigger, more elaborate, more costly material etc.), did they also live longer? So I guess the ultimate question being asked is 'Did wealthy people live longer'? This strikes me as a risky strategy. In a scientific analysis, successfully identifying interesting patterns or causal factors is usually a lot easier if you can hold as many variables constant as possible to isolate as best you can a single variable you are trying to explain. Here you will be mixing at least two variables in a way that adds uncontrollable error. You won't be absolutely certain that "elaborate" tombstones belong to rich people (or, more importantly, that "simple" ones do not); nor will you be certain that longevity has any straightforward relationship to wealth. Presumably the connection, if any, is a complicated one along the lines: wealth leads to better diet and health care, which leads to better overall health, which leads to longer life. If you happen to find a relationship between tombstone elaboration and longevity, there are also many competing hypotheses that could equally explain it. For example, aside from the hypothesis that wealthy people are healthier and can afford better tombstones, I might suggest the hypothesis that older people usually have a larger pool of living relatives (children and grandchildren and maybe great-grandchildren), so there are more people pushing for a more elaborate monument. Another is that the deceased, whatever his or her economic status, simply had more time to invest in savings that ultimately contributed to funeral costs. Furthermore, what will you do about cases where more than one person is listed on the tombstone, including individuals who died at quite different ages? I think you'd be better off exploring only half your proposed hypothesis. Either investigate the question of whether wealthy people lived longer (using the birth and death dates on the grave markers and using City Directories and the like to find out the likely wealth category of the deceased), or investigating the relationship between wealth and gravestone cost (again using City Directories, Assessment Rolls, and other sources that provide clues to the deceased's financial status).

Questions on Property Report		I just had a quick question about referencing the city directories and assessment rolls for our property assignments. I looked at all the directories from 1834 to the present and have made reference to many of these in my paper. Do I need to make a separate bibliographic entry for each of the years or can I just list it as an archival collection? The same question applies to the assessment rolls. You shouild cite the different directories separately, but you can abbreviate them in your citations (but not in the bibliography). For example, you might cite one as (CD 1834) in the text, and then in the bibliography give the full reference for the 1834 City Directory. Same goes for assessment rolls. What form of referencing should we use? Please use social-science format. I will enforce this strictly. For more information about this, see my web page on writing essays.

Holidays & Missed Classes