Understanding human interactions among groups located in different geographic areas is a central topic in social network analysis (SNA). In archaeological studies, where interactions must be inferred from a limited number of artifacts, this becomes particularly challenging. In this work, we introduce an SNA approach to investigate social interactions among groups from various geographic locations, focusing specifically on artifacts from the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 15,500 to 13,000 years ago) of the Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe. The analysis considers decorative motifs on artifacts and their geographic origins to identify interaction anomalies that deserve further archaeological analysis. Two approaches are introduced: one compares the proportional deviation (absolute difference in normalized weights) from geographic relationships, and the other uses closeness and betweenness centrality. This work highlights the potential of SNA methodologies in revealing latent patterns in archaeological data and advancing the study of symbolic behavior in prehistoric societies.

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Identifying Social Interaction Outliers with the Use of Network Analysis: Disk Decoration in the Middle Magdalenian Period

  • Sakhawat Hossan,
  • Jing Deng,
  • Rebecca Schwendler,
  • Charles P. Egeland

摘要

Understanding human interactions among groups located in different geographic areas is a central topic in social network analysis (SNA). In archaeological studies, where interactions must be inferred from a limited number of artifacts, this becomes particularly challenging. In this work, we introduce an SNA approach to investigate social interactions among groups from various geographic locations, focusing specifically on artifacts from the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 15,500 to 13,000 years ago) of the Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe. The analysis considers decorative motifs on artifacts and their geographic origins to identify interaction anomalies that deserve further archaeological analysis. Two approaches are introduced: one compares the proportional deviation (absolute difference in normalized weights) from geographic relationships, and the other uses closeness and betweenness centrality. This work highlights the potential of SNA methodologies in revealing latent patterns in archaeological data and advancing the study of symbolic behavior in prehistoric societies.