A Social Network Approach to Cretan Hieroglyphic Seals

This study applies Social Network Analysis (SNA) to Cretan Hieroglyphic seals of the Protopalatial period (c. 1900–1700 BCE) in order to investigate the interplay between their material and textual features as indicators of social identity and administrative roles. By modeling three- and four-sided prisms as proxies for individuals, the analysis reveals patterns of clustering based primarily on the number of sequences, seal material, and inscription readability. The results challenge earlier models of a strictly hierarchical administrative system mirrored by the differences between hard- and soft-stone seals, instead suggesting the coexistence of both vertical and horizontal forms of social differentiation. The study highlights the value of SNA for understanding how the physical and textual properties of undeciphered inscriptions worked together as active communicative strategies within the social landscape of Protopalatial Crete.