Complexity in the past is not relegated to the realm of society solely because it relies upon so many non-human actants. Hence we collapse the social and the technical (but this should also be understood as allowing for Haraway's companion species). Rather than discuss large scale processes that effect arbitrary changes in the complexity of past collectives as most archaeologists do we start from small-scale innovations such as writing media and demonstrate how "they can help small entities to become large ones" (Latour 1986, 29).

Changes in sociotechnical complexity in the past was caught up in complex heterogeneous networks which extended through distant spaces and into deep times.

Examples forthcoming...

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Posted at Jan 25/2005 03:48 PM:
Chris Witmore: Discuss Latour's notion of "centers of calculation" in relation to sociotechnical complexities.