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The Minimum Spanning Tree Problem in Archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Per Hage ,
Frank Harary  and
Brent James
Per Hage
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Frank Harary
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003–0001
Brent James
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA 02138
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Abstract

The minimum spanning tree problem is a well-known problem of combinatorial optimization. It was independently discovered in archaeology by Renfrew and Sterud in their method of close proximity analysis. Unlike traditional methods of seriation, this method permits branching structures that reveal clustering in archaeological data. Identifying close proximity analysis as the minimum spanning tree problem permits a more efficient means of computation, an explicit rule of clustering, and a recognition of problems of indeterminacy in the analysis of network data. These points are illustrated with reference to Irwin's recent study of voyaging and cultural similarity in Polynesia.

Resumen

Resumen

El problema del árbol de expansión mínima es bien conocido en optimizatión combinatorial. Este problema fue descubierto independientemente en la arqueología cuando Renfrew y Sterud aplicaron su análisis de “close proximity.” Este método es diferente de métodos tradicionales de seriación porque trabaja con estructuras dendríticas que muestran racemización en datos arqueológicos. El identificar el análisis de “close proximity” como el problema del árbol de expansión mínima permite (I) la aplicación de técnicas de computatión más eficientes, (2) el uso de una regla explícita de racemización, y (3) un reconocimento de los problemas indeterminados en el andlisis de datos de red. Comparamos este metodo con la obra reciente de Irwin sobre la navegación en barco y la similitud de culturas en Polinesia.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 61 , Issue 1 , January 1996 , pp. 149 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1996

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