Material Networks and Culture Change

Abstract

Abstract Diachronic social network analysis (SNA) of archaeological data is increasingly being used to frame and explain processes of cultural change in multiple world regions. Whether implicitly or explicitly, such studies foreground the materiality of culture change in an attempt to infer the less-tangible properties of social and cultural dynamics. This chapter considers theoretical and methodological frameworks for studying cultural change through SNA, including application of theories from the broader social sciences. Emphasis is placed on those archaeological theories that pair especially well with SNA of material culture and the importance of chronological control in such studies. Although few archaeological studies explicitly purport to be concerned with cultural change (instead of other heuristics including interaction, collective action, and religious movements), multiple case studies are provided that demonstrate how SNA of archaeological materials is contributing to regional and disciplinary conversations about culture change in multiple world regions.