Frequency Sampling in Microhistological Studies: An Alternative Model

Abstract

Frequency sampling in microhistological studies is discussed in terms of sampling procedures, statistical properties, and biological inferences. Two sampling approaches are described and contrasted, and some standard methods for improving the stability of density estimators are discussed. Possible sources of difficulty are highlighted in terms of sampling design and statistical analysis. An alternative model is proposed that accounts for 2-stage sampling, and yields reasonable, well-behaved estimates of relative densities.