Settlement scaling: simple equation, familiar variables, rich story

Summary

The basic mathematical statement of settlement scaling involves a very simple equation (a "power law function") and variables long used in anthropology and archaeology to study the effects of demography on social processes. One could interpret the settlement scaling framework as another instance of the allometric relationship found very widely in the biological realm. But what may be more important is the fact that the framework actually incorporates a lot of accumulated insights from anthropology while leaving out concepts from economics and evolutionary biology that are ill suited to studying pre-modern human societies. This talk will review the assumptions behind the choice of equation and variables and highlight the concepts behind and implications of settlement scaling theory’s mathematical framework.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Settlement Scaling in Archaeology—Not Just Modern, Not Just Urban

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14614