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Document Details :

Title: Detecting Settlement Communities in Graeco-Roman Egypt
Author(s): BROUX, Yanne
Journal: Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists
Volume: 53    Date: 2016   
Pages: 295-313
DOI: 10.2143/BASP.53.0.3200514

Abstract :
Over a decade ago, Katja Mueller proposed a new method for locating settlements in the Fayum borrowed from the social sciences: multidimensional scaling (MDS). As is so often the case with pioneering research, it was heavily criticized, although she never claimed the technique would overcome all problems associated with locating lost sites. In this paper, I suggest an alternative approach to MDS, based on network analysis, to detect settlement communities. In the past 13 years the database that Mueller started from has greatly expanded, allowing for a more encompassing analysis. Narrowing down the possible location radius of unknown sites with the help of these methods can be valuable for studies of ancient settlement patterns.

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