AGENT BASED MODELS OF ANCIENT

Complex systems theory is the study of emergent collective behaviour in sets of agents that can be represented as interacting according to simple rules. It is a fast-growing field which brings together many disciplines. The area crosses between computational science and sociology and can provide insight into the development of cultural practices. Early civilisations provide interesting backgrounds for models: for example, Anasazi society has been studied using agent-based modelling (Dean et al. 2006). Conversely, a model of, for example, ancient Egypt can be used to illustrate concepts from com-plex systems theory and test the universality of these concepts. In the Fractal House of Pharaoh, Mark Lehner outlines a complex systems view of ancient Egyptian civ-ilisation (Lehner 2000). We build on some of the aspects of this view in an agent-based computer model. The model presented here is designed to investigate the spread of information and population aggregation in an agrarian society. The model is based on an abstracted Egyptian landscape containing villages, flood plain, and river. The agents represent farming households which exchange information and migrate around the landscape motivated by the availability of surplus food (used as a proxy for quality of life). We shall use this to illustrate some of the key ideas of agent-based modelling and complex systems. Future work will attempt to construct more realistic models to explore the impact of special features of Egyptian geography and society on the devel-opment of the civilisation