Abstract

TEVES, Laura  and  CUETO, Jorge Julián. THE SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS, A THEORETICAL-METHODOLOGICAL BRIDGE BETWEEN ETHNOGRAPHY AND ARCHAEOLOGY. Comechingonia [online]. 2020, vol.24, n.3, pp.30-39. ISSN 1851-0027.

The aim of this paper is to present the contributions of social network analysis to the ethnographic and archaeological domains. For this, we expose the basics assumptions of the relational research emphasizing on the generation of models with interdisciplinary validity, as well the results of an ethnographic research on textile activities in the Calchaqui Valleys of Salta. In our description of the textile activity, we use the notion of operational sequence, which involves actors, raw materials, technologies, processes and communities of practice. The study was founded on three hypothesis: 1) the textile activity coexists with other subsistence activities, that are developed between various actors and households; 2) the personal relationships in everyday activities are coupled in different levels -micro, meso and macro- of structure and social organization; 3) the obtaining of resources and activities of the households correspond spatially with ecological environments -"del alto" and "del bajo"- which are complementary regionally.Finally, we argue that theory and methodology of social network analysis constitutes a tool for the ethnographic research, as they stimulate the generation of hypotheses and promote adaptations in the research designs aimed at structural modeling of current and past social problems. Thus, it opens a heuristically fruitful field that builds bridges between ethnographic and archaeological research.

Keywords : textile activity; social network analysis,models; Calchaquí Valley.