ANTH 3100Y Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Patty Jo Watson, Kent V. Flannery, Qualitative Economics

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Agent based models are identified by dynamic interaction between individually autonomous but rule-bound agents within an environment (which may also be dynamic) Equifinality two equally valid interpretations for explaining a problem. Hence, all sub-systems (or changes therein) can be justified with reference to their function (social/symbolic meaning not important) Systems theory, example 1: emergence of agriculture in mesoamerica (flannery 1968) Observations from analysis of sites occupied in different seasons suggest that scheduling decisions prioritized plant availability. Alongside pressures for water management, storage, need for canals, control mechanisms for storage, management of labour, payment of labour, etc. Maize cultivation thus theoretically could grow at the expense of other procurement systems and increase the complexity of the social system and in turn the dependence on maize. Renfrew first defines seven interacting subsystems: population and settlements, subsistence, metallurgy, craft technology, social systems, projective systems, trade and communication he then proceeded to show how and why each are changing over time.

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