The objective with this report is to use dates from archaeological sites in New Zealand to help understand the date of a new collection. The model used here is based on the presence of patterns in a new collection.

Method:

1. For a particular site, a list of patterns found is created and then each of these patterns is compared with all other sites in the database.
2. If a particular pattern is found in another site, the date range of this site is returned.
3. What is generated is a list of dates for patterns based on the presence of those patterns in other sites.
4. The researcher can look at that list and use this information to establish the possible date range for the new collection.

Other similar models could be based on the frequency or proportion of particular patterns or fabric types.