Includes bibliographical references and index.

Calculating the diversity of biological or cultural classes is a fundamental way of describing, analyzing, and understanding the world around us. Understanding archaeological diversity is key to understanding human culture in the past. Archaeologists have long experienced a tenuous relationship with statistics; however, the regular integration of diversity measures and concepts into archaeological practice is becoming increasingly important. This volume includes chapters that cover a wide range of archaeological applications of diversity measures. Featuring studies of archaeological diversity ranging from the data-driven to the theoretical, from the Paleolithic to the Historic periods, authors illustrate the range of data sets to which diversity measures can be applied, as well as offer new methods to examine archaeological diversity
The volume seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and practical applications, offering insights into the methodologies used to assess cultural diversity. By integrating evolutionary theory with archaeological data, the book presents a novel approach to understanding the complexities of human culture and its development over time.