ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the book’s approach to quantitative analysis in the field of archaeology. It frames the basic philosophical distinction between statistics and mathematics, with statistics being a logical framework for making inferences about the natural phenomena based on quantitative data. This chapter outlines the two basic goals of archaeological data analysis: pattern recognition and pattern evaluation. This chapter also offers some historical background on the role of quantitative analysis in the field of archaeology and how the field's major schools of thought have used statistical research.
