Community Detection

Abstract

Abstract We critically review the application of community detection in archaeology, as well as its potential to be developed on archaeological big data. The challenges in applying community detection algorithms are presented with a reference case study from the Balkans. We demonstrate the robustness of different community detection algorithms applied on chemical composition of 410 copper-based objects spanning c. 3,000 years. The highlight of this study is correlation of resulting modules with the known archaeological cultures within this time frame, which opens a new avenue in re-evaluating the concept of archaeological cultures with the application of community detection. Through this case study we also indicate what kind of issues arise when different high-performance algorithms are applied, and we propose problem-solving avenues for future community detection studies in archaeology.