Mills Presents on Importance of Edge Regions
Regents’ Professor Barbara Mills was a Keynote Speaker at the recent Computer Applications in Archaeology (CAA 2021) annual meeting. Originally scheduled for Cyprus, the conference was held using an online platform. Her presentation “How Edges Become Centers: Social Network Perspectives on Regional Social Transformation” used Southwest case studies to demonstrate the importance of edge regions in the innovation and diffusion process. Rather than the “small world” model, she drew on recent experimental research by network modelers that shows the importance of “broad bridges” and non-centralized clusters for the successful adoption of new innovations. Dr. Mills ended with some implications of this new model for Mediterranean archaeology. (Anthro News Digest date: 06/25/2021)