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SUMMARY:Unraveling Ancient Technology: A New Approach for Measuring Comple
 xity - Sebastian Fajardo Bernal (Leiden University)
DTSTART:20241122T131500Z
DTEND:20241122T140000Z
UID:TALK223432@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joe Lewis
DESCRIPTION:Archaeologists and anthropologists study technologies and thei
 r production systems to understand the complexity of socio-technical syste
 ms. However\, defining complexity and systematically comparing production 
 systems pose several challenges. In this talk\, we will introduce an appro
 ach using Petri nets to evaluate the behavioral and structural complexity 
 of production systems.\nPetri nets are formal models that overcome several
  limitations of current methods\, such as sequential logic and the inabili
 ty to model activities and resources separately. The talk will present two
  case studies: modeling Petri nets for traditional adhesive production by 
 the Ju/’hoan in Namibia and three potential methods for birch tar produc
 tion by Neanderthals.\nFor adhesive production in Nambia\, simulations rev
 ealed a significant increase in possible states with the addition of more 
 individuals but a reduction in complexity via changes in location\, highli
 ghting the complexity in resource gathering and processing. In the ancient
  birch tar case\, the results showed differences in information retention\
 , error likelihood\, and process understanding\, with no method emerging a
 s the most complex in all dimensions.\nPetri nets offer a systematic way t
 o visualize and analyze ancient production systems\, accounting for concur
 rency and possible relations with cognitive requirements. These first find
 ings suggest that the complexity of ancient technologies stems from multip
 le variables\, and measuring it in terms of 'more' or 'less' is insufficie
 nt. This approach adds valuable insight into the study of ancient producti
 on systems and their impact on past societies.\n\nIn person and online.\n\
 nhttps://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDc2MDk1ZGQtNmNkZC
 00M2U2LTliYjMtN2EyZWE0MDI5ZTAz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2249a
 50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227c42dde3-f200-49ed-9
 a81-5aa7e67f945e%22%7d\n\n---\n\nSebastian Fajardo is a researcher at the 
 Institute for Advanced Computing at Leiden University. His work focuses on
  understanding the relationships between community formation\, settlement 
 patterns\, and technological complexity\, aiming to identify structural an
 d behavioral variables that drive human adaptation. With expertise in basi
 c research\, environmental impact assessment\, and cultural heritage manag
 ement\, he employs a range of analytical methods including quantitative an
 d qualitative analysis\, geospatial analysis\, statistical analysis\, netw
 ork analysis\, machine learning\, and computational modeling. He also cond
 ucts fieldwork in both Colombia and Zambia.
LOCATION:Seminar Room\, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research\, D
 owning Site
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