With the development and application of scientific methods in both archaeology and forensics, it is important to test or validate these methods to ensure they can withstand rigorous scrutiny from scientific and other communities and perform as expected. Approaches to method validation within archaeological and forensic science are discussed in this paper, with a focus on outlining current forensic validation procedures. An example of how a validation process has been applied in assessing technology for quantifying human DNA from forensic samples is provided. We propose that guidelines for method validation in archaeological science could be based on those currently utilised in forensics.
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