Page 78 - Lungshan Pottery Lunshanoid Research 1977 Paper

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Generally speaking, the main purpose of this attempt

to employ cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling,

is to test traditional classifications of Lungshanoid sites

by a more objective means while s t i l l maintaining somewhat

subjective aspects assumed to have social or cultural mean-

ing. In other words, using a great number of characters

(variables) as the determinants i n the process of classifi-

cation with the computer is viewed as more objective than

the use of only a few, but the process of choosing charac-

ters itself is subjective. A method including objective

and subjective aspects i n the procedure i s optimal.

Since a l l cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling

are executed by the computer, the only thing eft for the
l
archaeologist to do is the choosing of characters as the

variables of OTU (operational taxonomic units) or data units.

This step is not only very important but also very difficult,

because the variables we choose should have as much cultural

and/or social significance as possible. When one wants to

deal with the published material on Chinese archaeology

using this technique, one faces a serious problem i n terms

of the nature of these site reports — the different degree

of description i n each individual site report. Some of

them are to detailed for our purposes while others are too