Predicting Prehistoric Settlement in the Northern Neck of Virginia: The Richmond County Assessment Survey Methodology

Abstract

Cultural Resource Management studies have identified a variety of site types and locations and generated data suited to statistical and predictive analysis. Unfortunately, predictive models often include unwarranted assumptions about the structure of the environment and the mathematical distribution of the data. Statistical and graphic approaches drawn from Exploratory Data Analysis, combined with sampling of the environment, promote evaluation of the potential of environmental variables for predicting site locations. Analysis of data from the Richmond County Archaeological Assessment illustrates these points.