Shott (2022, American Antiquity 87:794–815) argues that making inferences from ceramic data requires first inferring use lives of vessels—something that is difficult to do. This comment argues that the problem of differential use life becomes more tractable if the assemblage, rather than the vessel, is the unit of analysis. Aside from empirical reasons, theoretical considerations also favor the assemblage as the appropriate unit.

中文翻译：

---

陶瓷分析单位和容器使用寿命问题

Shot (2022, American Antiquity 87:794–815) 认为，根据陶瓷数据进行推断需要首先推断容器的使用寿命，而这是很难做到的。该评论认为，如果分析单位是组合体而不是容器，则不同使用寿命的问题会变得更容易处理。除了经验原因之外，理论考虑也支持将组合作为适当的单位。