Quantification in Zooarchaeology
Calculating and Critiquing NISP, MNI, and MNE
Society for American Archaeology Online Seminar - Deeper Digs Series
RPA-certified
Learning Objectives:
RPA-certified
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how NISP, MNE, and MNI are calculated
- Describe the limitations of each of these quantification units
- Analyze when it is appropriate to apply each of these quantification units
- Be able to critically evaluate and understand these units in colleagues’ research
- Be able to discuss how these units apply to and can address specific research questions
Scope and Intensity
This course was designed for archaeologists at any stage in their career (including students and late career stage) who are not specialists in zooarchaeology or who do not work with the quantification units used regularly in zooarchaeology. We will focus on learning about three of the most commonly used quantification units: Number of Identified Specimens (NISP), Minimum Number of Elements (MNE), and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI). We will learn how to calculate these units and the history of their development, but, more importantly, will also learn how to interpret them and evaluate their use and applicability to research questions. This course will be broken up into lecture, practical, and discussion portions that will give participants the tools to easily and more accurately interpret zooarchaeological studies that use these three units.Â
