The construction of chronological sequences. A multivariate statistical approach to the Iron Age of the Middle Tagus valley

Abstract

This paper shows the potential of a type of multivariate analysis (Correspondence Analysis) as a statistical tool useful to process, present and interpret qualitative information, especially when dealing with poorly systematized datasets. This statistical method is applied to the middle Tagus valley Iron Age, a region where the last decades’ archaeological information improvement has not yet brought about a clear, well defined chronological sequence for the period. Multivariate Analysis results, combined with existing absolute datings and the archaeological record are used to propose the first general chronology for the 1st millennium B.C. in this region.