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Hello all, I have a general enquiry regarding the interpretative frameworks by which we 'judge' our data. I am looking to find which people regularly use, and also if anyone has any new, funky ways of analysing data. As far as I am aware we collect our data - I am trying to avoid the quantification debate - attempt to compensate/account for taphonmy and recovery and apply a series of models and try to describe what was happening..... So what are your favourites - I guess I tend to stick to age structures/production models - Legge/Payne and then to account for body parts I use percentage relative abundance of elements to present the data (i.e. how many of each body part should there be based on the MNE/MNI and how many are there - after Brain) to present the data. I rarely work on pre-Neolithic sites with enough bone to examine hunter/prey relationships. Then I guess I scratch my head trying to factor in bone density and taphonomy etc. Use my knowledge of the sites, think about preservation etc, muse about sexual composition, visit Ethnography/Anthropology a little (e.g. Binford) to think about butchery and rubbish disposal and come up with a story.....OK so that's not quite it - but that's a reasonable quick description. I know that there are slightly different approaches around the world, and any person choice will depending on site type and date, personal preferences and where you were taught the discipline or which lab you practised it in. If people could indicate their 'range of conceptual frameworks' that they commonly use it would be very interesting - I don't want a bibliography I just want to know the main concepts around which you base your data interpretation i.e. what are the commonly repeated elements of you bibliography? So if you have a spare moment - do tell. Jacqui Jacqui Mulville, Lecturer in Bioarchaeology, Examinations Officer School of History and Archaeology Cardiff University Humanities Building Colum Drive Cardiff CF10 3EU http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/hisar/people/archaeology/jm1/ Tel: + 44 (0) 29 2087 4247 Fax: + 44 (0) 29 2087 4929