Interpretations of prehistoric social organization based an multivariate statistical analyses of burial practices are becaming increasingly common in the North American archaeological literature. Unfortunately these analyses and interpretations can incorporate weaknesses ranging from faulty data coding and the misapplication of statistical procedures to blases in the statistical and logical procedures employed. These problems are discussed in light of recent analyses which use burial data from six woodland sites in the riverine midwestern United States to develop a model of social change for the period A.D. 200-800.