Artifact & Site Analysis
Minimum number of individuals, bone fragmentation index, pottery sherd counts, artifact density per unit area, and settlement population estimates from site size: quantitative analysis for researchers processing real excavation data.
Calculators & Tools
MNI Calculator
The MNI Calculator works out the Minimum Number of Individuals in a skeletal assemblage from left- and right-side element counts, taking the highest single-element contribution as the overall figure. It also compares MNI against NISP and includes a two-context comparison mode that shows how summed and pooled MNI can disagree, a known non-additivity property of the method.
Artifact Density Calculator
The Artifact Density Calculator works out area density (per square metre) and volume density (per cubic metre) from your excavation unit dimensions and artifact counts. It also breaks results down by artifact class, such as ceramics, lithics, and faunal bone, so compositional differences between units are visible alongside the overall density figure.
Bone Fragmentation Index Calculator
The Bone Fragmentation Index Calculator works out the NISP:MNE ratio per taxon and skeletal element, or a weighted average bone completeness percentage from recorded portion brackets. It includes a built-in caution about the equifinality problem, since carnivore gnawing, trampling, and sediment attrition can all produce a high fragmentation ratio that looks statistically similar to intensive human butchery.
Pottery Sherd Estimator
The Pottery Sherd Estimator calculates sherd count, sherd weight, and Estimated Vessel Equivalent (EVE) for each ware type in a ceramic assemblage, then compares their percentage shares side by side. It flags cases where count-based and EVE-based proportions diverge significantly, since sherd count is biased toward wares that fragment more finely while EVE gives an unbiased estimate of true vessel proportions.
Settlement Population Estimator
The Settlement Population Estimator calculates an approximate site population using either the classic Naroll (1962) or Brown (1987 restudy) floor area coefficients, or a house count multiplied by average household size. It shows both floor area coefficients side by side, since they can produce population estimates differing by more than 60% for the same site.