Historical and Archaeological Network Data

Claire Lemercier (1)

1 CSO - Centre de sociologie des organisations (Sciences Po, CNRS)

This chapter addresses the shared peculiarities of historical and archaeological network data. It lists the main types of sources that have been fruitfully used to produce historical data on interactions and relationships. It presents the main questions that we should keep in mind during the construction of network data, understood as a process of translation of a source into relational terms. The first four parts present four types of historical network data and their archaeological equivalents: data based on legal and quasi-legal records, networks of words from texts, two-mode networks from membership lists, and data built from past narratives on past ties. The fifth part addresses research projects that use several types of source, and the last part lists general practical advice applicable to any type of historical and archaeological data.

Mots clés: Social network Analysis SNA; Historical sources; Source criticism; Big data; Historical data; Archaeological data

Domaines: Histoire; Archéologie et Préhistoire

Claire Lemercier. Historical and Archaeological Network Data. Brughmans, Tom; Mills, Barbara J.; Munson, Jessica; Peeples, Matthew A. The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Network Research, Oxford University Press, pp.347-362, 2023, 9780198854265. ⟨10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198854265.013.20⟩. ⟨halshs-04300404⟩