Comparative Archaeology Database, University of Pittsburgh
URL: http://www.cadb.pitt.edu
Email: cadb@pitt.edu

El Venado Dataset
Ana María Boada Rivas

Ceramic Vessel Diameters

The data files DIAM.TXT and DIAM.XLS contain data on the ceramic vessel rim diameters that could be estimated from sherds from excavations at El Venado. DIAM.TXT is an ASCII text file; DIAM.XLS contains the same data in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. Each line represents one sherd, so a particular context appears multiple times if there were several sherds that permitted estimation of a rim diameter. There are 1476 lines in the text file, each with 13 variables separated by commas. The variables are, in the following order:

1 Test pit number
2 Tomb number
3 Feature number
4 East-west coordinate (for a test pit, the southwest corner; for a tomb, the center; for a feature, the center)
5 North-south coordinate (for a test pit, the southwest corner; for a tomb, the center; for a feature, the center)
6 Depth below surface (m) of the upper extreme
7 Depth below surface (m) of the lower extreme
8 Level number
9 Chronological period of excavated context (COL=Colonial; EM=Early Muisca; LH=Late Herrara; LM=Late Muisca; NOID=Not identified; PREC=Preceramic; REP=Republican; REVU=Mixed)
10 Residential unit designation of excavated context (blank=Unassigned)
11 Vessel form of the rim (1=Cuenco Aquillado, 2=Cuenco, 3=Jar, 4=Olla, 5=Olla-Cuenco)
12 Subcategory of vessel form of the rim (1=Short rim; 2=Long neck; 3=Short neck; 4=No neck; 5=Thin rim; 6=Everted rim; 7=Thickened rim; 8=Jar with medium neck; 9=Jar with medium neck, everted rim, and one handle; 10=Jar with long neck; 11=Jar with everted neck and no handles)
13 Vessel rim diameter (cm)

The first line of the ASCII text file, for example, looks like this:

0,6,0,573.0,273.0,0.00,0.00,0,LM,LM-20,5,1,23

This indicates that the sherd is not from a numbered test pit context, but rather from Tomb 6. It is not from a numbered feature. The coordinates are 573.0 East-west and 273.0 North-South. There are no measurements below surface for the upper extreme or the lower extreme of the context. The context does not have a level number. The context dates to Late Muisca, and it is assigned to Residential Unit LM-20. The rim is from an Olla-Cuenco, and it is a short rim. The diameter is estimated at 23 cm.

The last (1476th) line of the ASCII text file is:

74,0,0,684.0,618.0,0.10,0.20,2,COL,,4,4,14

This indicates that the context is in Test pit 74, but is not a numbered tomb or feature. The coordinates are 684.0 East-West and 618.0 North-South. The depth below surface of the upper extreme of the context is 0.10 m, and of the lower extreme, 0.20 m. It is Level 2, and dates to the Colonial period. It is not assigned to any residential unit. The rim is from an olla; it has no neck. The diameter is estimated at 14 cm.

Click here to download the file DIAM.TXT (68 KB) or the file DIAM.XLS (220 KB).


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