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Poster Information:
Type: Poster
Poster Title: NETWORK ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD INTERACTION AT A THIRTEENTH CENTURY HOHOKAM VILLAGE
Author: MATTHEW PAILES   
Date/Time: Sat., 8:00 AM-9:45 AM
Co-Author(s): MATTHEW PAILES 
Abstract: This research utilizes network analysis to explore household interaction patterns of a prehistoric Hohokam village, Cerro Prieto (ca AD 1150-1300). The terraced site at Cerro Prieto, built on a dark volcanic hill in southern Arizona, is unique for its location, size, temporal affiliation, and architecture. A data set amenable to network analysis was produced by surface survey to record clusters of architecture and a trail system that interconnected all residential space. In the parlance of network theory, clusters of architecture - the archaeological correlates of households - are treated as nodes and the trails as edges. Households are evaluated in terms of their centrality in relation to their neighbors and the larger network. Centrality can be quantitatively derived from a node’s degree, the number of connecting edges; from its betweeness, the frequency of times a node lies on a path between other nodes; or from other complex statistical methods. Centrality reflects a node’s ability to constrain or direct the social interaction of its neighbors and the larger network. In this application, measures of centrality are compared to architectural and demographic patterns, which are reflective of the material and human capital controlled by households at Cerro Prieto. Comparisons to a proximity-based null model of connectivity highlight the intentional forging of non-random social links. Positions in the network could be leveraged to manipulate social standing. The inefficient global structure of the network is a factor in explaining the short occupation of this village.

Program Number: 4-0040
Session Title: APPROACHES TO NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
Session Sponsor: Archaeology Division
Session Date/Time: Sat., 8:00 AM-9:45 AM
Organizer(s): ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM COMMITTEE (AAA) 
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