Question of Bias in the North American Fluted-Point Sample

A variety of statistical tests were used to analyze data from the fluted-point database compiled by Anderson and Faught (2000b) to determine if modern population density and/or cultivated square kilometers of land bias the fluted-point sample. Results for each statistical test are presented to show how the different tests can influence interpretation of the data. Ultimately, it was determined that only one test, the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis, was appropriate for analysis of the data compiled in the fluted-point sample. When the lower forty-eight states are conflated, statistical analysis showed that the fluted-point database was biased by modern population density and amount of cultivation. Counties with higher population density have more fluted-points recorded than those with lower population density. As with population density, counties with more cultivation per square kilometer have more fluted-points recorded than those with less cultivation. The same is true for the northeast, south, and midwest regions of the United States, as well as those states east and west of the Mississippi. There was no statistically significant relationship, however, between cultivation and modern population density and fluted-points recorded in the Western region.