Discriminant function analyses in archaeology: are classification rates too good to be true?

Kovarovic, Kris; Aiello, Leslie C.; Cardini, Andrea; Lockwood, Charles A.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.06.028

Cited by 193 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…These results suggest that, due to unequal sampling size, an average of 78 % of the workers can be correctly classified by chance. As suggested by Kovarovic et al (2011) and from the results obtained in the LDA on balanced groups (bLDA , Table III), this high random chance baseline for workers might have influenced the misclassification of the three haploid males to this larger group. In any cases, cross-validated accuracy in the LDA on original data was always better than chance.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Following Kovarovic et al (2011) and Evin et al (2013), potential bias due to heterogeneous sample sizes and number of predictors has to be taken into account in assessing the robustness of cross-validation results. As our sampling involved groups of heterogeneous size (i.e., many more worker specimens), we tested the potential effect of our sampling on the HR results.…”

Section: Sensitivity To the Heterogeneous Sample Size And Number Of Smentioning

confidence: 99%

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Discrimination of haploid and diploid males of Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera; Apidae) based on wing shape

et al. 2015

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-Presence of diploid males in wild bees reflects inbreeding and provides information about the health status of a colony or population. Detection of diploid males, and discrimination from haploid males and workers, has, however, been limited to molecular diagnostics. Here we present a novel method based on differences in wing shape, e.g., venation patterns in wings. The method is easy to apply and results, for Bombus terrestris , in very high discrimination success. Possible applications of the method are discussed.Bombus / decline / diploid males / wing shape / geometric morphometrics

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Sensitivity To the Heterogeneous Sample Size And Number Of Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Discrimination of haploid and diploid males of Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera; Apidae) based on wing shape

et al. 2015

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“…Variables selected by DFA models had F value with p > 0.05; variables removed had p < 0.10. Efficacy of discriminant functions in categorizing fossil taxa was assessed using jack-knife cross validation classification rate (Kovarovic et al 2011). The software IBM SPSS statistics version 23 was employed to generate DFA models.…”

Section: Paleobiological Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elbow Joint Geometry in Bears (Ursidae, Carnivora): a Tool to Infer Paleobiology and Functional Adaptations of Quaternary Fossils

Meloro

Oliveira

2017

J Mammal Evol

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Bears are currently represented by eight species among Carnivora. Being all particularly large and generally plantigrade limits to certain extent their functional morphology so that inferences about their past diversification are difficult to achieve. We analyzed variation in bears' elbow joint size and shape to reconstruct paleobiology of Quaternary fossil species. By using 2D geometric morphometrics, we were able to discriminate with high degree of accuracy species, locomotor and habitat adaptations among extant bears. The giant panda and the spectacled bear are well characterized by an enlarged medial epicondyle, while large members of the genus Ursus can be distinguished by their relatively longer and wider trochlea. Elbow joint size varies consistently among ecological categories of extant bears and is generally selected by discriminant function models providing a high degree of classification accuracy (> 80%). American genera Arctotherium and Arctodus are predicted as non-climbing species potentially adapted to open and mixed environments in agreement with their potentially opportunistic feeding behavior. They retain a wide medial epicondyle probably in relation to a high degree of forelimb dexterity. Cave bears are equally predicted as non-climbers adapted to open habitats while the middle Pleistocene Ursus deningeri and fossil Ursus arctos are generally classified as scansorial species with a preference towards mixed habitats. Our study is the first to demonstrate that fragmentary distal epiphyses also can be useful for interpreting functional morphology and ecological adaptations within the family Ursidae.

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“…One indication of the accuracy of predictions made by the DFA is the probability of each case"s membership in the group to which it is assigned (e.g., Hertel, 1995;DeGusta and Vrba, 2003;Kovarovic et al, 2011). When the DFA model assigns a specimen, it generates probabilities based on Mahalanobis distances from each group centroid, and assigns it to the group for which its probability of membership is highest.…”

Section: Dfa Of Modern Astragalimentioning

confidence: 99%

Bovid ecomorphology and hominin paleoenvironments of the Shungura Formation, lower Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

Plummer

Ferraro

Louys

et al. 2015

Journal of Human Evolution

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The Shungura Formation in the lower Omo River Valley, southern Ethiopia, has yielded an important paleontological and archeological record from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of eastern Africa. Fossils are common throughout the sequence and provide evidence of paleoenvironments and environmental change through time. This study developed discriminant function ecomorphology models that linked astragalus morphology to broadly defined habitat categories (open, light cover, heavy cover, forest, and wetlands) using modern bovids of known ecology. These models used seven variables suitable for use on fragmentary fossils and had overall classification success rates of > 82%. Four hundred and one fossils were analyzed from Shungura Formation members B through G (3.4 to 1.9 million years ago). Analysis by member documented the full range of ecomorph categories, demonstrating that a wide range of habitats existed along the axis of the paleo-Omo River.

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Discriminant function analyses in archaeology: are classification rates too good to be true?

Cited by 193 publications

References 50 publications

Discrimination of haploid and diploid males of Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera; Apidae) based on wing shape

Discrimination of haploid and diploid males of Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera; Apidae) based on wing shape

Elbow Joint Geometry in Bears (Ursidae, Carnivora): a Tool to Infer Paleobiology and Functional Adaptations of Quaternary Fossils

Bovid ecomorphology and hominin paleoenvironments of the Shungura Formation, lower Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

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