People and Things on the Move: Tracking Paths with Social Network Analysis

Lena Tambs

doi:10.1515/opar-2025-0040

People and Things on the Move: Tracking Paths with Social Network Analysis

Forskningsoutput: Tidskriftsbidrag › Artikel › Vetenskaplig › Peer review

Sammanfattning

The article presents an early test case of the author’s ongoing project, in which she utilises aspects of social network analysis (SNA) to study social and economic life under Ptolemaios II Philadelphos and Ptolemaios III Euergetes as reflected in the largest surviving private archive from Ancient Egypt, the so-called Zenon Archive. Spanning a limited period of some 35 years (263–229 BCE), the c. 1845 documents of this archive reveal a wealth of information about individuals living under various conditions in Egypt and beyond. Since several places and persons are attested across more than one document, relational and attribute data retrieved from them can be meaningfully conceptualised and modelled as 1-partite and k-partite networks. With a case study of texts predating or written while Zenon travelled and worked as the financial minister’s private agent in the Levant, the author demonstrates how formal methods of SNA can be used to map, visualise, and analyse 3-partite networks of people and places mentioned in ancient texts. Finally, she reflects on what doing so on a larger scale may teach us.

Originalspråk	engelska
Artikelnummer	20250040
Tidskrift	Open Archaeology
Volym	11
Nummer	1
Antal sidor	25
ISSN	2300-6560
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2025-0040
Status	Publicerad - 2025
MoE-publikationstyp	A1 Tidskriftsartikel-refererad
Evenemang	Network Perspectives in the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean - University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Varaktighet: 13 dec. 2021 → 14 dec. 2021 https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/news/language-culture/network-perspectives-in-the-archaeology-of-the-ancient-near-east-and-eastern-mediterranean-december-13-14-2021

Bibliografisk information

The article is part of the special Issue on 'Network Perspectives in the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East', published in the Open Archaeology journal and edited by Maria Gabriella Micale, Helen Dawson, & Antti A. Lahelma.

Vetenskapsgrenar

615 Historia och arkeologi

Åtkomst av dokument

10.1515/opar-2025-0040Licens: CC BY

10.1515_opar-2025-0040Slutlig publicerad version, 5,89 MBLicens: CC BY

ANEE: Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires
Svärd, S. (Projektledare), Alstola, T. (deltagare), Auranne, T. (deltagare), Bennett, E. R. (deltagare), Hietamäki, T. A. E. (deltagare), Jauhiainen, H. (deltagare), Jones, C. W. (deltagare), Kankkunen, J. A. (deltagare), Ketonen, A. K. (deltagare), Liikanen, C. S. (deltagare), Lund, J. S. A. (deltagare), Ong, M. C. (deltagare), Pietarinen, S. L. (deltagare), Ruotsalainen, A. J. (deltagare), Sakko, M. T. (deltagare), Spunaugle, A. (deltagare), Tambs, L. (deltagare) & Valk, J. (deltagare)
Suomen Akatemia Projektilaskutus
01/01/2023 → 31/12/2025
Projekt: Dinlands Akademi: Spetsforskningsenhet
Interpersonal Relationships in Early Ptolemaic Egypt: A Network Analytical Study of the Zenon Archive (263-229 BCE)
Tambs, L. (Projektledare)
Kone Foundation
01/04/2021 → …
Projekt: Forskningsprojekt
ANEE: Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires
Silverman, J. M. (Principal Investigator), Svärd, S. (Projektledare), Lahelma, A. (Principal Investigator), Nikki, N. (Deltagare), Töyräänvuori, J. (Deltagare), Jokiranta, J. (Deltagare), Laine, L. (Deltagare), Kletter, R. (Deltagare), Bonnie, R. (Deltagare), Thomas, S. (Deltagare), Holmqvist-Sipilä, E. (Deltagare), Kouki, P. (Deltagare), Wasmuth, M. (Deltagare), Wallis, C. (Deltagare), Lorenzon, M. (Deltagare), Jauhiainen, H. (Deltagare), Jauhiainen, T. (Deltagare), Alstola, T. (Deltagare), Bach, J. (Deltagare), Fink, S. (Deltagare), Konstantopoulos, G. (Deltagare), Zaia, S. (Deltagare), Sahala, A. (Deltagare), Miettunen, P. H. (Deltagare), Avneri Meir, R. (Deltagare), Aissaoui, A. I. (Deltagare), Arpe, O. P. (Deltagare), Luukko, M. I. (Deltagare), Kovanen, H. (Deltagare), Linden, K. (Deltagare), Bennett, E. R. (Deltagare), Saari, S. (Deltagare), Vanderstraeten, E. (Deltagare), Autere, K. (Deltagare), Debourse, C. H. I. (Deltagare), Kailamäki, U. (Deltagare), Kautonen, S. K. (Deltagare), Spunaugle, A. (Deltagare), Tambs, L. (Deltagare), Jones, C. W. (Deltagare), Wijnsma, U. Z. (Deltagare), Valk, J. (Deltagare), Gheorghiade, P. (Deltagare), Autere, K. (Deltagare), Uotila, R. (Deltagare), Reinikainen, S. J. J. (Deltagare), Cutillas Victoria, B. (Deltagare), Holappa, M. (Deltagare), Kletter, R. (Deltagare), Smith, S. L. (Deltagare) & Pfoh, E. (Deltagare)
01/01/2018 → 31/12/2025
Projekt: Forskningsprojekt

People and Things on the Move (supplementary material)
Tambs, L. (Skapad av), Zenodo, 4 apr. 2025
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13963730
Datauppsättning

Citera det här

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abstract = "The article presents an early test case of the author{\textquoteright}s ongoing project, in which she utilises aspects of social network analysis (SNA) to study social and economic life under Ptolemaios II Philadelphos and Ptolemaios III Euergetes as reflected in the largest surviving private archive from Ancient Egypt, the so-called Zenon Archive. Spanning a limited period of some 35 years (263–229 BCE), the c. 1845 documents of this archive reveal a wealth of information about individuals living under various conditions in Egypt and beyond. Since several places and persons are attested across more than one document, relational and attribute data retrieved from them can be meaningfully conceptualised and modelled as 1-partite and k-partite networks. With a case study of texts predating or written while Zenon travelled and worked as the financial minister{\textquoteright}s private agent in the Levant, the author demonstrates how formal methods of SNA can be used to map, visualise, and analyse 3-partite networks of people and places mentioned in ancient texts. Finally, she reflects on what doing so on a larger scale may teach us.",

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N2 - The article presents an early test case of the author’s ongoing project, in which she utilises aspects of social network analysis (SNA) to study social and economic life under Ptolemaios II Philadelphos and Ptolemaios III Euergetes as reflected in the largest surviving private archive from Ancient Egypt, the so-called Zenon Archive. Spanning a limited period of some 35 years (263–229 BCE), the c. 1845 documents of this archive reveal a wealth of information about individuals living under various conditions in Egypt and beyond. Since several places and persons are attested across more than one document, relational and attribute data retrieved from them can be meaningfully conceptualised and modelled as 1-partite and k-partite networks. With a case study of texts predating or written while Zenon travelled and worked as the financial minister’s private agent in the Levant, the author demonstrates how formal methods of SNA can be used to map, visualise, and analyse 3-partite networks of people and places mentioned in ancient texts. Finally, she reflects on what doing so on a larger scale may teach us.

AB - The article presents an early test case of the author’s ongoing project, in which she utilises aspects of social network analysis (SNA) to study social and economic life under Ptolemaios II Philadelphos and Ptolemaios III Euergetes as reflected in the largest surviving private archive from Ancient Egypt, the so-called Zenon Archive. Spanning a limited period of some 35 years (263–229 BCE), the c. 1845 documents of this archive reveal a wealth of information about individuals living under various conditions in Egypt and beyond. Since several places and persons are attested across more than one document, relational and attribute data retrieved from them can be meaningfully conceptualised and modelled as 1-partite and k-partite networks. With a case study of texts predating or written while Zenon travelled and worked as the financial minister’s private agent in the Levant, the author demonstrates how formal methods of SNA can be used to map, visualise, and analyse 3-partite networks of people and places mentioned in ancient texts. Finally, she reflects on what doing so on a larger scale may teach us.

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People and Things on the Move: Tracking Paths with Social Network Analysis

Sammanfattning

Bibliografisk information

Vetenskapsgrenar

Åtkomst av dokument

Projekt

ANEE: Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires

Interpersonal Relationships in Early Ptolemaic Egypt: A Network Analytical Study of the Zenon Archive (263-229 BCE)

ANEE: Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires

Forskningsdatauppsättningar

People and Things on the Move (supplementary material)

Citera det här