Total area of the dwelling floors and total population of the largest settlements of eighteen societies show a loglog regression which suggests that the population of a prehistoric settlement can be very roughly estimated as of the order of one-tenth the floor area in square meters.
Two solutions are offered to the problem of distinguishing “historical” from “functional” associations in cross-cultural surveys. The underlying logic of the mathematical model is discussed and three kinds of association distinguished: hyperdiffusional or purely “historical” association, undiffusional or purely “functional” association, and semidiffusional or mixed “historical-functional” association. Two overland diffusion arcs constitute the test sample; the relationship of social stratification to political complexity constitutes the test problem. A sifting test establishes a bimodal distribution of interval lengths between like types and sifts out repetitions with a lesser interval length than the second mode. A cluster test shows that for the test problem, the “hits” cluster more than the “misses”.
This is a study of the causes of creative florescences in particular periods of time in certain countries. Five hypotheses were tested which have been proposed to explain such florescences. No support was found for four of these supposed causes: wealth, geographical expansion, democratic government and external challenge. Some support however was found for the fifth hypothesis: the more politically fragmented a civilization at a given time, the higher its creativity level.
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