Methodology With the development of statistical techniques and numerical taxonomy in the 1960s, mathematical methods (including cluster analysis, principal components analysis, correspondence analysis and factor analysis) have been used to build typologies. These techniques provide a qualitative way to articulate the degrees of consistency among particular attributes. Correlation coefficients created by these methods help archaeologists discern between meaningful and useless similarities between artefacts. During the 1990s archaeologists began to use phylogenetic methods borrowed from cladistics. Ceramics For cultures that produced pottery, archaeologists invariably spend a great deal of time defining ceramic "types." Each type is a series of attributes which distinguishes one group of pottery (whether whole vessels or potsherds) from all other groups of pottery, such that each type was produced in a single time and place. Ideally, the attributes used to identify types are ones that are identifiable with the naked eye, and are found on small fragments of pottery, so that the sorting of potsherds into types is quick and straightforward. By sorting potsherds in terms of types, archaeologists can examine a series of potsherds (including those lying on a site surface) and quickly suggest when and where the pottery was made. By extension, they can estimate when a prehistoric site was used, whether there are any traded pieces, and so on. The names assigned to the ceramic types are arbitrary. In United States, the common practice is a two-part name, the first part being an arbitrary geographic reference and the second part providing a brief description of the pottery's most obvious design attributes. Thus, for example, the type "Flagstaff Black-on-white" was first defined using a collection from the vicinity of Flagstaff, Arizona, and its primary design attribute is the use of black paint on a white background.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Non-archaeologists should be aware of the limitations of ceramic typology. All such typologies are abstractions, and fail to describe all of the variability in an artistic tradition. Professional disagreement over specifics is common. Changes in ceramic design did not happen overnight, and archaeological typologies tend to break continua of design evolution into arbitrary (but highly useful) units. Most archaeological dates are approximate. Art In the middle of the twentieth century, German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher raised typology to an art form by photographing countless similar architectural features including water towers, workers' houses and industrial landscapes.Bernd and Hilla Becher, Water Towers, The MIT Press, 1988,%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Types of typologies The main types of typologies include: Morphological/descriptive typology One class of typology consists of a descriptive or morphological approach.Archaeology Wwordsmith morphological It is based on the physical characteristics and the external features of an artifact. Some examples of morphological and descriptive typologies would be categorizing artifacts distinctively on their weight, height, color, material, or whichever class the individual decides upon. Stylistic typology This type of classification displays information about the artifact via the object's display. Stylistic typology is not to be confused with classification of certain styles, for that would just entail organizing artifacts based on how they look. This type of typology accounts for information told through the artifact. Pottery is an example of a stylistic typology because the artifacts provide information on artistic evolution.     
Quantitative methodologies With the development of statistical techniques and numerical taxonomy in the 1960s, mathematical methods (including cluster analysis, principal components analysis, correspondence analysis and factor analysis) have been used to build typologies. These techniques provide a qualitative way to articulate the degrees of consistency among particular attributes. Correlation coefficients created by these methods help archaeologists discern between meaningful and useless similarities between artefacts. During the 1990s archaeologists began to use phylogenetic methods borrowed from cladistics. Qualitative methodologies %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Morphological/descriptive typology One class of typology consists of a descriptive or morphological approach.Archaeology Wwordsmith morphological It is based on the physical characteristics and the external features of an artifact. Some examples of morphological and descriptive typologies would be categorizing artifacts distinctively on their weight, height, color, material, or whichever class the individual decides upon. Stylistic typology This type of classification displays information about the artifact via the object's display. Stylistic typology is not to be confused with classification of certain styles, for that would just entail organizing artifacts based on how they look. This type of typology accounts for information told through the artifact. Pottery is an example of a stylistic typology because the artifacts provide information on artistic evolution. Ceramics For cultures that produced pottery, archaeologists invariably spend a great deal of time defining ceramic "types." Each type is a series of attributes which distinguishes one group of pottery (whether whole vessels or potsherds) from all other groups of pottery, such that each type was produced in a single time and place. Ideally, the attributes used to identify types are ones that are identifiable with the naked eye, and are found on small fragments of pottery, so that the sorting of potsherds into types is quick and straightforward. By sorting potsherds in terms of types, archaeologists can examine a series of potsherds (including those lying on a site surface) and quickly suggest when and where the pottery was made. By extension, they can estimate when a prehistoric site was used, whether there are any traded pieces, and so on. The names assigned to the ceramic types are arbitrary. In United States, the common practice is a two-part name, the first part being an arbitrary geographic reference and the second part providing a brief description of the pottery's most obvious design attributes. Thus, for example, the type "Flagstaff Black-on-white" was first defined using a collection from the vicinity of Flagstaff, Arizona, and its primary design attribute is the use of black paint on a white background. Non-archaeologists should be aware of the limitations of ceramic typology. All such typologies are abstractions, and fail to describe all of the variability in an artistic tradition. Professional disagreement over specifics is common. Changes in ceramic design did not happen overnight, and archaeological typologies tend to break continua of design evolution into arbitrary (but highly useful) units. Most archaeological dates are approximate. Art In the middle of the twentieth century, German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher raised typology to an art form by photographing countless similar architectural features including water towers, workers' houses and industrial landscapes.Bernd and Hilla Becher, Water Towers, The MIT Press, 1988,
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Methodology
Quantitative methodologies
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Ceramics
Qualitative methodologies
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For cultures that produced pottery, archaeologists invariably spend a great deal of time defining ceramic "types." Each type is a series of attributes which distinguishes one group of pottery (whether whole vessels or potsherds) from all other groups of pottery, such that each type was produced in a single time and place. Ideally, the attributes used to identify types are ones that are identifiable with the naked eye, and are found on small fragments of pottery, so that the sorting of potsherds into types is quick and straightforward. By sorting potsherds in terms of types, archaeologists can examine a series of potsherds (including those lying on a site surface) and quickly suggest when and where the pottery was made. By extension, they can estimate when a prehistoric site was used, whether there are any traded pieces, and so on.
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The names assigned to the ceramic types are arbitrary. In United States, the common practice is a two-part name, the first part being an arbitrary geographic reference and the second part providing a brief description of the pottery's most obvious design attributes. Thus, for example, the type "Flagstaff Black-on-white" was first defined using a collection from the vicinity of Flagstaff, Arizona, and its primary design attribute is the use of black paint on a white background.
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Non-archaeologists should be aware of the limitations of ceramic typology. All such typologies are abstractions, and fail to describe all of the variability in an artistic tradition. Professional disagreement over specifics is common. Changes in ceramic design did not happen overnight, and archaeological typologies tend to break continua of design evolution into arbitrary (but highly useful) units. Most archaeological dates are approximate.
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Art In the middle of the twentieth century, German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher raised typology to an art form by photographing countless similar architectural features including water towers, workers' houses and industrial landscapes.Bernd and Hilla Becher, Water Towers, The MIT Press, 1988,
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Types of typologies The main types of typologies include:
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Ceramics
A
For cultures that produced pottery, archaeologists invariably spend a great deal of time defining ceramic "types." Each type is a series of attributes which distinguishes one group of pottery (whether whole vessels or potsherds) from all other groups of pottery, such that each type was produced in a single time and place. Ideally, the attributes used to identify types are ones that are identifiable with the naked eye, and are found on small fragments of pottery, so that the sorting of potsherds into types is quick and straightforward. By sorting potsherds in terms of types, archaeologists can examine a series of potsherds (including those lying on a site surface) and quickly suggest when and where the pottery was made. By extension, they can estimate when a prehistoric site was used, whether there are any traded pieces, and so on.
A
The names assigned to the ceramic types are arbitrary. In United States, the common practice is a two-part name, the first part being an arbitrary geographic reference and the second part providing a brief description of the pottery's most obvious design attributes. Thus, for example, the type "Flagstaff Black-on-white" was first defined using a collection from the vicinity of Flagstaff, Arizona, and its primary design attribute is the use of black paint on a white background.
A
Non-archaeologists should be aware of the limitations of ceramic typology. All such typologies are abstractions, and fail to describe all of the variability in an artistic tradition. Professional disagreement over specifics is common. Changes in ceramic design did not happen overnight, and archaeological typologies tend to break continua of design evolution into arbitrary (but highly useful) units. Most archaeological dates are approximate.
A
Art In the middle of the twentieth century, German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher raised typology to an art form by photographing countless similar architectural features including water towers, workers' houses and industrial landscapes.Bernd and Hilla Becher, Water Towers, The MIT Press, 1988,