Agents, networks and complexity - an introduction to the session
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-09-15

In the last few years we have seen a surge in applications of two novel techniques in archaeology: agent-based modelling and network science. They seem to come with bold claims and a lot of promise but where exactly do we place them on the epistemological spectrum? Are they simply new tools for data analysis? Or perhaps they deal with previously overlooked data types? Surely they cannot be as important as is sometimes claimed if archaeology did just fine without them for so many years? In this introductory presentation we will define, explain, and discuss these and closely related methods, and show their place within the archaeological research process. We will sketch out the ways in which these methods have transformed other disciplines and how they relate to the larger field of complexity science. In doing so we will highlight the issues and challenges that archaeologist still need to overcome to unlock the full potential of agent-based modelling and network science for our discipline.

(Iza Romanowska, Tom Brughmans)