Distinguishing Burials in Thebes, Greece: Using MNI and MLNI as a Differentiation Technique

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to determine an additional method to help distinguish between types of burials in Thebes, Greece and generally in archaeological remains. Using two quantification methods, MNI and MLNI, it was hypothesized that differences and similarities between the estimation values could help categorize a burial as a mass grave or a multi-use burial. In order to test this hypothesis, five graves were analyzed in Thebes, Greece. Two graves had estimation values that categorized them as mass graves, two graves had estimations values that distinguished them as multi-use burials, and one grave had estimation values that presented a complicated categorization. These two quantification techniques were applicable in differentiating between two burial types at the archaeological site in Thebes.