The influence of alternative sources on patterns of abundance of exchanged goods within a region is investigated. A gravity model is developed, which predicts relative abundance of goods from each source at each site in the region. Results of the application of this model to an ethnographic example indicate that observed patterns of abundance of exchanged goods which seem anomalous in terms of previously proposed models of exchange distributions can be explained through the effects of alternative sources. Results of the application of this model to an archaeological example suggest that some aspects of the observed spatial patterning in abundance of exchanged goods can be related to the presence of alternative sources in the region. It is concluded that the multiple sources gravity model has wide utility in the investigation of the operation of prehistoric exchange systems.
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