Social network analysis in archaeology

Abstract

Social network analysis (SNA) in archaeology has become important for a range of theoretical and methodological approaches that can more generally be characterized as relational. They are relational in that it is the ties between actors (or nodes) that define social connections. Archaeologists are currently employing a diversity of theoretical approaches to networks, and the perspective taken in this review is that SNA can provide insights into a number of different social processes using different theories. Following a brief historical overview, I discuss two aspects of SNA: The structural position of the actor or node, and characterizations of whole networks. I then summarize several broad classes of archaeological networks: Historical, spatial, and material. I conclude with a call for more bridging approaches to span alternative theoretical and methodological approaches in the archaeology of networks.