A Prolegomenon on Archaeological Complexity and Disorganization: Fragmentation and Missing Data

IF 3.2 1区 历史学 Q1 ANTHROPOLOGY Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory Pub Date : 2024-01-02 DOI:10.1007/s10816-023-09636-3
Ezra Zubrow
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Abstract

Archaeologists all over the world face problems regarding complexity and disorganization. Whether surveying, excavating, or doing laboratory analysis, the nature of the evidence of prehistoric societies is fragmented and incomplete. On a global and very general basis, the older the site, the greater the fragmentation, the more the missing data, and the greater the disorganization that the archaeologist must navigate to understand the past. Of course, there are notable exceptions. Most archaeologists consider the topic from the specificity of a particular time, a particular place, and a particular society. In this paper, it is considered in its most non-particular and general format. In order to do so, the paper creates an artificial archaeological region that is surveyed and excavated to a greater and lesser extent and analyzed with a variety of statistical and graphic evaluations. It concludes that when all other things are equal, increasing fragmentation causes far more disorganization and increases complexity than does missing data. Thus, fragmentation is a far more important problem for archaeological interpretation than relatively small amounts of missing data.

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考古学复杂性与无序性前言:支离破碎与数据缺失
全世界的考古学家都面临着复杂和无序的问题。无论是勘测、发掘还是进行实验室分析,史前社会证据的性质都是支离破碎和不完整的。从全球范围来看,一般来说,遗址越古老,碎片就越多,缺失的数据就越多,考古学家要想了解过去,就必须克服更多的杂乱无章。当然,也有明显的例外。大多数考古学家都是从特定时间、特定地点和特定社会的特殊性出发来考虑这个问题的。在本文中,我们将以最非特定和最一般的形式来考虑这一问题。为此,本文人为地创造了一个考古区域,对该区域进行了或多或少的调查和发掘,并通过各种统计和图表评估进行了分析。论文的结论是,在其他条件相同的情况下,碎片化程度的增加所造成的混乱和复杂程度的增加远远超过数据缺失所造成的混乱和复杂程度的增加。因此,对于考古解释而言,破碎化是比相对少量的缺失数据更重要的问题。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
6.30
自引率
8.70%
发文量
43
期刊介绍: The Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, the leading journal in its field,  presents original articles that address method- or theory-focused issues of current archaeological interest and represent significant explorations on the cutting edge of the discipline.   The journal also welcomes topical syntheses that critically assess and integrate research on a specific subject in archaeological method or theory, as well as examinations of the history of archaeology.    Written by experts, the articles benefit an international audience of archaeologists, students of archaeology, and practitioners of closely related disciplines.  Specific topics covered in recent issues include:  the use of nitche construction theory in archaeology,  new developments in the use of soil chemistry in archaeological interpretation, and a model for the prehistoric development of clothing.  The Journal''s distinguished Editorial Board includes archaeologists with worldwide archaeological knowledge (the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Africa), and expertise in a wide range of methodological and theoretical issues.  Rated ''A'' in the European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory is rated ''A'' in the ERIH, a new reference index that aims to help evenly access the scientific quality of Humanities research output. For more information visit: http://www.esf.org/research-areas/humanities/activities/research-infrastructures.html Rated ''A'' in the Australian Research Council Humanities and Creative Arts Journal List.  For more information, visit: http://www.arc.gov.au/era/journal_list_dev.htm
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