Visiting Instructor of Anthropology Nathan Goodale, recent Hamilton graduate Lara Cueni '08 and Curtis Osterhoudt of the Los Alamos National Laboratory presented their paper "Cultural Transmission and the Production of Material Goods: The Mathematical Expression of Identity in Notched Points" at the 6th World Archaeological Congress in Dublin, Ireland, on July 3.
The paper stems from Goodale's research in the Near East on the origins of agriculture and represents one facet which Cueni focused on for her senior thesis. The paper presents a method which allows an estimation of the variability within the production of projectile points to a much greater degree than previously available. With this technique we incorporate network clustering techniques which identify clusters of morphologically related points. The current results of the project suggest that we may be able to identify small groups of artisans who produce points in very specific ways which has interesting implications for examining the interaction of people across the Neolithic landscape nearly 12,000 years ago and the material goods that they produce.
The paper stems from Goodale's research in the Near East on the origins of agriculture and represents one facet which Cueni focused on for her senior thesis. The paper presents a method which allows an estimation of the variability within the production of projectile points to a much greater degree than previously available. With this technique we incorporate network clustering techniques which identify clusters of morphologically related points. The current results of the project suggest that we may be able to identify small groups of artisans who produce points in very specific ways which has interesting implications for examining the interaction of people across the Neolithic landscape nearly 12,000 years ago and the material goods that they produce.
