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

Prehispanic Chiefdoms in the Valle de la Plata: Vertical Economy Dataset
Dale W. Quattrin

Artifacts from the Survey Collection

A data file named SHPRART.TXT includes information on the materials obtained during intensive shovel testing (Series QT) of all the sites selected for initial investigation. These data are in the form of an ASCII text file that can be read directly or easily imported to an application program such as a database manager or statistics package. The file contains 759 lines, one for each collection. On each line are 20 variables or text strings, separated by commas. The 20 variables are, in the following order:

1 Site Number
2 Series Designation
3 Lot Number
4 Number of Barranquilla Buff Sherds Recovered
5 Weight of Barranquilla Buff Sherds (g)
6 Number of Guacas Reddish Brown Sherds Recovered
7 Weight of Guacas Reddish Brown Sherds Recovered (g)
8 Number of Lourdes Red Slipped Sherds Recovered
9 Weight of Lourdes Red Slipped Sherds Recovered (g)
10 Number of Planaditas Burnished Red Sherds Recovered
11 Weight of Planaditas of Burnished Red Sherds Recovered (g)
12 Number of Tachuelo Burnished Sherds Recovered
13 Weight of Tachuelo Burnished Sherds Recovered (g)
14 Diagnostic Tachuelo Burnished Sherds (1=present, 0=absent)
These are sherds with unequivocal diagnostic features.
15 Number of Flakes Recovered
16 Weight of Flakes Recovered (g)
17 Number of Pieces of Obsidian Recovered
18 Weight of Obsidian Recovered (g)
19 Number of Other Items Recovered
20 Description of any Other Items Recovered

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

183,"QT",1,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

It contains the data on artifacts (lithics and ceramics) from site VP183, collection lot QT/001. There are no Barranquilla Buff sherds (weighing 0g), 1 Guacas Reddish Brown sherd (weighing 1g), and no other artifacts. The 20th variable is omitted since ther are no "other items" to describe.

The last (or 759th) line of the file is:

1125,"QT",759,8,21.3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,9.5,0,0,0

It contains the data on artifacts (lithics and ceramics) from site VP1125, collection lot QT/759. There are 8 Barranquilla Buff sherds (weighing 21.3g), no Guacas Reddish Brown sherds (weighing 0g), no Lourdes Red Slipped sherds (weighing 0g), no Planaditas Burnished Red sherds (weighing 0g), no Tachuelo Burnished sherds (weighing 0g), no diagnostic Tachuelo Burnished sherds, 2 flakes (weighing 9.5g), and no other artifacts. The 20th variable is omitted since ther are no "other items" to describe.

Click here to download the file SHPART.TXT (39 KB).


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