Boundaries, scale, and internal organization

The abstract systems properties of size, centralization, and boundary permeability are related in a theoretical model, wherein size and permeability are positively associated and these two properties are in turn negatively associated with centralization. The model is tested with regional archaeological survey data for 1500 B.C.–A.D. 1520 from the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. The results point out the conditions under which the model does and does not hold in the cultural evolution of this complex society.