A ‘Divergence Problem’ of global explanatory models in-between science and humanities

Michael Kempf ()
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Michael Kempf: University of Basel

Palgrave Communications, 2023, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Large-scale and global explanatory models for past, current, and future human behaviour are currently the focus of all the natural sciences and humanities. But to which extent do such models enable the theoretical and methodological discourse that explains the complexity of human patterns in different geographic and ecological set-ups? Such an effort incorporates principles of geography, ecology, and archaeology, as well as attempts for model parameterisation and adaptation. Building on local behaviour with global implications, this paper explores fundamental parameters of environmental connectivity and ecological functionalities in archaeological and ecological research. As a consequence, I hypothesise a Divergence Problem in archaeological and particularly in socio-environmental models—a mismatch between archaeological data complexity, environmental explanatory variables, and simplicity of the resulting model. Theoretically, the adjustment of global models to regional contextualisation can be achieved by introducing a correction coefficient, hereafter referred to as Glocalization Coefficient, which could allow for the comparison between regional environmental driving factors and individual human activity spheres.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-02232-6

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