Assyrian merchants meet nuclear physicists: history of the early contributions from social sciences to computer science. The case of automatic pattern detection in graphs (1950s--1970s)

TL;DR

This paper explores the early history of social sciences' contributions to computer science, focusing on community detection and pattern recognition in graphs from the 1950s to 1970s, highlighting overlooked pioneering work.

Contribution

It uncovers and analyzes the socio-historical context of early graph analysis algorithms, emphasizing social sciences' role and factors affecting their recognition.

Findings

Early contributions from social sciences to graph analysis

Impact of funding policies on research dissemination

Historical factors influencing algorithm recognition

Abstract

Community detection is a major issue in network analysis. This paper combines a socio-historical approach with an experimental reconstruction of programs to investigate the early automation of clique detection algorithms, which remains one of the unsolved NP-complete problems today. The research led by the archaeologist Jean-Claude Gardin from the 1950s on non-numerical information and graph analysis is retraced to demonstrate the early contributions of social sciences and humanities. The limited recognition and reception of Gardin's innovative computer application to the humanities are addressed through two factors, in addition to the effects of historiography and bibliographies on the recording, discoverability, and reuse of scientific productions: 1) funding policies, evidenced by the transfer of research effort on graph applications from temporary interdisciplinary spaces to disciplinary organizations related to the then-emerging field of computer science; and 2) the erratic careers of algorithms, in which efficiency, flaws, corrections, and authors' status, were determining factors.