Methodological Challenges and Interpretations in Network Analysis of Artifact Data
Project Overview
This project investigates how network analysis can be used to study relationships among ancient communities. By developing new methods for analyzing archaeological networks, it helps researchers better understand migration, social interaction, and long-term social change in the past.
Matthew Peeples
Arizona State University
John M. Roberts, Jr.
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Project Details
Networks are a powerful way to study relationships among people, communities, and places, and they are increasingly used by archaeologists to investigate past social systems. This project examines how network analysis can be used to better understand patterns of interaction among ancient communities, focusing on connections inferred from similarities in artifacts such as ceramics. By studying how these networks change through time, researchers can gain new insights into migration, population movements, social organization, and the spread of ideas across regions.
The project also evaluates and develops methods for applying network analysis to archaeological data. Because archaeological evidence is often incomplete and subject to sampling limitations, analytical approaches developed in other fields may not always be appropriate for archaeological research. Using data from the American Southwest and other archaeological contexts, the project investigates how methodological choices influence interpretations of past social relationships and develops new tools for analyzing and visualizing archaeological networks. The resulting methods and online resources help researchers, students, and the public better understand the complex social connections that shaped human societies in the past.
Research Team
- Matthew Peeples, Arizona State University
- John M. Roberts, Jr., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
- Barbara J. Mills, University of Arizona
- Ronald Breiger, University of Arizona
Project Funding
2018 National Science Foundation, Archaeology Program and the NSF Measurement, Methodology, and Statistics Program – Methodological Challenges and Interpretations in Network Analysis of Artifact Data
Outcomes
2024 Peeples, Matthew A., John M. Roberts, Jr., and Yi Yin. Challenges for Network Research in Archaeology. In The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Network Research, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
2023 Brughmans, Tom and Matthew A. Peeples Network Science in Archaeology. Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
2023 Roberts, John M., Jr., Emily Dorshorst, Yi Yin, Matthew A. Peeples, Ronald L. Breiger, and Barbara J. Mills. Sampling variability and centrality score comparisons in archaeological network analysis: A case study of the San Pedro Valley, Arizona. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 51:104100.
2023 Peeples, Matthew A. and Robert J. Bischoff. Archaeological networks, community detection, and critical scales of interaction in the U.S. Southwest/Mexican Northwest Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 70:101511
2021 Roberts, John M., Jr., Yi Yin, Emily Dorshorst, Matthew A. Peeples, Barbara J. Mills. Assessing the Performance of the Bootstrap in Simulated Assemblage Networks. Social Networks 65:98109.
2020 Brughmans, Tom and Matthew A. Peeples. Spatial Networks. In Archaeological Spatial Analysis: A Methodological Guide, edited by Mark Gillings, Piraye Haciguzeller, and Gary Lock, Taylor and Francis, London.
2019 Peeples, Matthew A. Finding a Place for Networks in Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Research. 27(4):451-499.