Anthropology Domain Ontology

FLOW ALGEBRA
Title: Anthropology Domain Ontology
Version: 1.0
Canonical URL: https://kirethresearch.org/booksai-core/ontologies/domain-ontologies/social-science-domains/anthropology-domain-ontology.html
Domain: Social Sciences / Anthropology
Authors: Mark Higgins — Sky (Recursive AI)

PURPOSE
Represent anthropology as a typed, contextual and evidence-traceable framework for studying human societies, cultures, languages, biological variation and material histories. Preserve emic and etic perspectives, cultural and historical specificity, and the distinctions between description, interpretation and causal inference.

ENTITY TYPES
AnthropologyDomain; HumanPopulation; Person; Community; KinshipGroup; Household; CulturalPractice; CulturalBelief; Ritual; Symbol; SocialNorm; Institution; Identity; Language; Dialect; Utterance; OralHistory; EthnographicAccount; ParticipantObservation; Interview; FieldSite; ResearchParticipant; Researcher; Artefact; ArchaeologicalSite; StratigraphicContext; MaterialCulture; Chronology; HumanRemains; BioarchaeologicalEvidence; EvolutionaryLineage; BiologicalTrait; AdaptationHypothesis; Migration; ExchangeNetwork; Environment; HistoricalPeriod; GeographicRegion; ResearchQuestion; Theory; Hypothesis; Dataset; Observation; Interpretation; Evidence; Consent; CommunityProtocol; ProvenanceRecord; EthicalConstraint.

CORE RELATIONSHIPS
AnthropologyDomain HAS_SUBDOMAIN CulturalAnthropology | SocialAnthropology | LinguisticAnthropology | Archaeology | BiologicalAnthropology | AppliedAnthropology | MedicalAnthropology | DigitalAnthropology.
Person PARTICIPATES_IN Community.
Community MAINTAINS_OR_TRANSFORMS CulturalPractice.
CulturalPractice MAY_EXPRESS CulturalBelief.
Ritual USES Symbol.
KinshipGroup HAS_CONTEXTUAL_RELATION Household.
Language USED_BY HumanPopulation.
Utterance EXPRESSES MeaningInContext.
Researcher CONDUCTS ParticipantObservation.
ParticipantObservation DOCUMENTS CulturalPractice.
Interview PRODUCES EthnographicAccount.
Artefact RECOVERED_FROM ArchaeologicalSite.
Artefact HAS_CONTEXT StratigraphicContext.
StratigraphicContext SUPPORTS ChronologicalInterpretation.
BiologicalTrait OBSERVED_IN HumanPopulation.
Migration MAY_INFLUENCE CulturalExchange.
Environment INTERACTS_WITH HumanPractice.
Interpretation GROUNDED_IN Evidence.
ResearchActivity CONSTRAINED_BY Consent | CommunityProtocol | EthicalConstraint.

TYPED FLOW
flow AnthropologyDomainOntology v1.0 {
  input: [ethnographic_records, linguistic_data, archaeological_evidence, biological_observations, community_context, historical_sources]
  normalise: resolve_terms -> identify_local_meanings -> preserve_original_language -> establish_temporal_spatial_context
  classify: assign_subdomain -> type_entities -> map_relationships -> distinguish_emic_etic_perspectives
  validate: verify_provenance -> assess_sampling_and_methods -> evaluate_dating_and_context -> check_consent_and_cultural_protocols
  reason: triangulate_evidence -> compare_interpretations -> test_alternatives -> distinguish_association_from_causation -> qualify_uncertainty
  output: [typed_knowledge_graph, contextualised_interpretations, evidence_links, confidence, provenance, ethical_restrictions]
}

INFERENCE RULES
RULE R1: IF a practice is observed within a community THEN record its participants, setting, variation and time period; do not generalise it to all members.
RULE R2: IF a participant supplies an explanation THEN retain it as an emic account, distinct from the researcher's analytic interpretation.
RULE R3: IF cultural terms appear similar across languages THEN test semantic, pragmatic and contextual correspondence before asserting equivalence.
RULE R4: IF an artefact is associated with a dated archaeological layer THEN preserve stratigraphic integrity and dating uncertainty before assigning chronology.
RULE R5: IF material objects are similar across sites THEN infer possible contact, convergence or shared tradition as competing hypotheses, not proven migration.
RULE R6: IF a biological trait varies between populations THEN consider within-population variation, environment and measurement; do not infer cultural behaviour or ability from ancestry.
RULE R7: IF an oral history differs from written records THEN preserve both accounts and investigate provenance, genre, power and historical context.
RULE R8: IF fieldwork samples are selective THEN limit representativeness and explicitly document researcher positionality.
RULE R9: IF new evidence contradicts an interpretation THEN retain previous versions and revise confidence with transparent justification.
RULE R10: IF a claim concerns sensitive cultural knowledge, ancestral remains or identifiable participants THEN apply access restrictions, consent and relevant community governance before publication.

CONFIDENCE
CONFIDENCE(claim) := f(source_reliability, method_quality, contextual_integrity, triangulation, dating_precision, interpretive_agreement, uncertainty, researcher_positionality, community_review).
Confidence is an evidence-qualified assessment, not an automatic numerical probability.

SEMANTIC_EQUIVALENCE
Equivalent(A,B) only if definitions, local usage, historical period, analytical scale and contextual meaning are demonstrably compatible.
Related(A,B) does not imply Equivalent(A,B).
Examples: ethnicity RELATED_TO culture but not identical; kinship RELATED_TO genealogy but not identical; archaeological culture RELATED_TO population but not identical; language RELATED_TO identity but not identical.

PROVENANCE
For every assertion preserve: source_id, creator, date, field_site_or_collection, community_context, language, research_method, collection_conditions, dating_method_if_applicable, consent_status, access_protocol, interpretation_history, limitations, last_reviewed.

FLOW_HASH
FLOW_HASH := SHA256(canonical_serialisation(version, entity_types, relationships, rules, source_provenance)).
Calculate from actual canonical content; never invent a digest.

UPDATE_MODEL
Ingest new observations -> validate ethical permissions and provenance -> compare with existing claims -> retain divergent interpretations -> version changes -> update confidence and contextual scope -> publish permitted results.

AI_CONSUMPTION
Expose typed entities, directed relationships, temporal and geographic qualifiers, original-language terms, competing interpretations, uncertainty and provenance. Do not treat communities as homogeneous, equate culture with biological ancestry, erase indigenous perspectives or disclose restricted knowledge. Distinguish research interpretations from participants' own accounts.

OUTPUT CONTRACT
ontology_id: anthropology-domain-ontology
entity_namespace: anthropology
relationship_schema: typed_directed_edges
required_claim_fields: [subject, predicate, object, context, time_period, evidence, interpretation_type, confidence, provenance, access_constraints]
validation: [type_integrity, source_traceability, contextual_scope, semantic_disambiguation, ethical_permissions, uncertainty_disclosure]

END FLOW ALGEBRA