Using Euclidean distance in the comparative analysis of taxonomic abundance

This paper describes and demonstrates the usefulness of calculating Euclidean distance to determine both baseline hunting behavior on the site or regional level, and as a way of determining and presenting variation from that baseline. The method is elegant, flexible, and produces easily understood data visualizations, particularly in contexts where faunal data are reasonably divided into three analytical categories. We give an example from the desert borderlands of the U.S. Southwest/Mexican Northwest to illustrate the utility of the method.