Comparative Archaeology Database, University of Pittsburgh
URL: http://www.cadb.pitt.edu
Email: cadb@pitt.edu

Chifeng Settlement Dataset
Chifeng International Collaborative Archaeological Research Project

Ceramic Densities from Survey

The data files SURVDEN.TXT and SURVDEN.XLS contain data on surface densities of ceramics for all periods and all survey collection units. They detail the calculation of the area-density index (the central population proxy used in analyzing the Chifeng data) for each collection unit. For a full account of the data screening that preceded the calculation of the area-density index click here. SURVDEN.TXT is a comma delimited ASCII text file, which should be easy to import into spreadsheet, database, and statistical programs for manipulation and analysis. SURVDEN.XLS contains the same data in the form of an Excel spreadsheet which is easier to browse, and can also be imported into many programs. Each line in the data files represents one survey collection unit. There are 3278 lines, each with 35 variables separated by commas. The variables are, in the following order:

1 Key--a combination of the survey tract number, the team letter, and the collection unit number for a unique text string that identifies each collection unit
2 Area--the surface area covered by the entire collection unit (ha)
3 Surface visibility--a subjective characterization of the degree of visibility of surface artifacts: 3=high, 2=medium , 1=low, 0=missing data
4 Systematic collection--whether a systematic collection was made within dog-leash circles: 1=yes, 0=no
5 Number of circles--if a systematic collection was made, the number of dogleash circles, each 3 m in diameter, that were collected
6 Total number of sherds collected
7 Total number of modern sherds (post-Liao times)
8 Total number of pre-modern sherds (Liao or earlier)
9 Total number of unknown (unclassified) sherd
10 Total number of classified, pre-modern sherds
11 Total number of Xinglongwa sherds
12 Total number of Zhaobaogou sherds
13 Total number of Hongshan sherds
14 Total number of Xiaoheyan sherds
15 Total number of Lower Xiajiadian sherds
16 Total number of Upper Xiajiadian sherds
17 Total number of Zhanguo-Han sherds
18 Total number of Liao sherds
19 Overall surface density--number of pre-modern sherds per square meter (See the full account of data screening for the details of this calculation)
20 Xinglongwa sherd density (sherds per square meter)
21 Zhaobaogou sherd density (sherds per square meter)
22 Hongshan sherd density (sherds per square meter)
23 Xiaoheyan sherd density (sherds per square meter)
24 Lower Xiajiadian sherd density (sherds per square meter)
25 Upper Xiajiadian sherd density (sherds per square meter)
26 Zhanguo-Han sherd density (sherds per square meter)
27 Liao sherd density (sherds per square meter)
28 Xinglongwa area-density index (variable 2 times variable 20)
29 Zhaobaogou area-density index (variable 2 times variable 21)
30 Hongshan area-density index (variable 2 times variable 22)
31 Xiaoheyan area-density index (variable 2 times variable 23)
32 Lower Xiajiadian area-density index (variable 2 times variable 24)
33 Upper Xiajiadian area-density index (variable 2 times variable 25)
34 Zhanguo-Han area-density index (variable 2 times variable 26)
35 Liao area-density index (variable 2 times variable 27)

The first line of the ASCII text file, for example, looks like this:

00A001,0.98,2,1,1,28,1,27,10,17,0,0,0,0,13,0,4,0,3.82,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,2.92,0.00,0.90,0.00,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,2.874,
0.000,0.884,0.000

This means that the key is 00A001, the collection unit covered an area of 0.98 hectares, and the surface visibility was medium. This collection was a systematic collection that used one circle. In total, 28 sherds were collected, 1 modern, and 27 pre-modern. Of the 27 pre-modern sherds, 10 were unclassified and 17 classified. Out of these 17, there were 0 Xinglongwa sherds, 0 Zhaobaogou sherds, 0 Xiaoheyan sherds, 13 Lower Xiajiadian sherds, 0 Upper Xiajiadian sherds, 4 Zhanguo-Han sherds, and 0 Liao sherds. Overall surface density was 3.82 pre-modern sherds per square meter. The Xinglongwa sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Zhaobaogou sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Hongshan sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Xiaoheyan sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Lower Xiajiadian sherd density was 2.92 sherds per square meter. The Upper Xiajiadian sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Zhanguo-Han sherd density was 0.90 sherds per square meter. The Liao sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Xinglongwa area-density index was 0.000. The Zhaobaogou area-density index was 0.000. The Hongshan area-density index was 0.000. The Xiaoheyan area-density index was 0.000. The Lower Xiajiadian area-density index was 2.874. The Upper Xiajiadian area-density index was 0.000. The Zhanguo-Han area-density index was 0.884. Finally, the Liao area-density index was 0.000.

The last, or 3278th line of the ASCII text file is:

99E147,0.77,3,,,16,7,9,0,9,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,9,0.25,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.25,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,
0.000,0.000,0.192

This means that the key is 99E147, the collection unit covered an area of 0.77 hectares, and the surface visibility was not recorded. It was a general collection, hence no number of circles is provided. In total, 16 sherds were collected, 7 modern, and 9 pre-modern. Of the 9 pre-modern sherds, 0 were unclassified and 9 classified. Of these 9, there were 0 Xinglongwa sherds, 0 Zhaobaogou sherds, 0 Xiaoheyan sherds, 0 Lower Xiajiadian sherds, 0 Upper Xiajiadian sherds, 0 Zhanguo-Han sherds, and 9 Liao sherds. Overall surface density was 0.25 pre-modern sherds per square meter. The Xinglongwa sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Zhaobaogou sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Hongshan sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Xiaoheyan sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Lower Xiajiadian sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Upper Xiajiadian sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Zhanguo-Han sherd density was 0.00 sherds per square meter. The Liao sherd density was 0.25 sherds per square meter. The Xinglongwa area-density index was 0.000. The Zhaobaogou area-density index was 0.000. The Hongshan area-density index was 0.000. The Xiaoheyan area-density index was 0.000. The Lower Xiajiadian area-density index was 0.000. The Upper Xiajiadian area-density index was 0.000. The Zhanguo-Han area-density index was 0.000. Finally, the Liao area-density index was 0.192.

Click here to download the file SURVDEN.TXT (444 KB) or the file SURVDEN.XLS (1.0 MB).


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