Reconstructing Social Networks: Using 3D Scans to Infer Networks of Shared Manufacture Knowledge in Late Bronze Age Central Europe

Summary

This project is a case study using 3D scans of Late Bronze Age swords (~1200-800BC) to recreate community networks of knowledge. Measurements from 111 3D scans of bronze sword hilts were taken based on characteristics related to manufacture and style, including cross sections. Fourier analysis was used to represent the curvature of cross sections numerically. The measurements taken and the results of the Fourier analyses were then processed using principal component analysis to combine related shape data. From there, several cluster analyses on the different types of data were used to group blades by morphological similarities. These cluster analyses formed the basis of links in a network graph. While nodes were defined in various ways, treating individual swords as nodes provided the most interesting results. Finally, a community detection algorithm was run on the networks to examine potential communities of bronze smiths, as represented by the swords. In this paper, I will present the general workflow and statistical methods used alongside my conclusions discussing the networks I detected and how those affect our understanding of LBA bronze smith communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17214