Agent-Based Model: Cultural Memory Dynamics of Flood Myths

Model Overview

This agent-based model simulates the emergence, propagation, and evolution of flood myths as cultural memories of late Pleistocene/early Holocene environmental catastrophes. The model tracks how these memories spread through populations, adapt to local conditions, and eventually become institutionalized through written codification.

Environmental Backdrop

Initial Conditions (t=0: ~12,000 BCE)

Spatial Heterogeneity

High Receptivity Zones (α = 0.8-1.0):

Medium Receptivity Zones (α = 0.4-0.7):

Low Receptivity Zones (α = 0.1-0.3):

Agent Properties

Individual Agents

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Agent {
  position: (x, y)
  cultural_group: string
  memory_capacity: float [0,1]
  transmission_skill: float [0,1]
  receptivity_local: float [0,1]  // based on local environment
  flood_story: Story_Object
  literacy_status: boolean
  institutional_role: {none, priest, scribe, ruler}
  narrative_allegiance: string  // current flood story version believed
  allegiance_strength: float [0,1]  // commitment to current narrative
  switching_threshold: float [0,1]  // resistance to narrative conversion
  
  // Modular Cultural System
  political_allegiance: string
  religious_allegiance: string
  economic_network: string
  professional_identity: string
  mythological_belief: string
  cultural_modularity: float [0,1]  // ability to compartmentalize cultural domains
}

Story Objects

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Story {
  core_elements: [water_catastrophe, divine_cause, survivor_group, renewal]
  local_adaptations: [geography, cultural_heroes, specific_details]
  narrative_strength: float [0,1]  // memorability and transmission fitness
  mutation_rate: float
  institutional_backing: boolean
  written_form: boolean
  competitive_elaborations: [genealogies, prophecies, moral_frameworks]
  explanatory_power: float [0,1]  // how well it explains current conditions
  emotional_appeal: float [0,1]  // psychological resonance with audience
  social_utility: float [0,1]  // practical benefits of belief
  
  // Modular Properties
  cultural_domain: {mythological, religious, political, philosophical}
  cross_domain_compatibility: dict  // compatibility with other cultural modules
  specialization_level: float [0,1]  // focus vs. comprehensive cultural package
  portability: float [0,1]  // ability to transfer across cultural boundaries
}

Cultural Groups

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Group {
  identity: string
  territory: polygon
  population: int
  literacy_rate: float
  institutional_strength: float
  canonical_story: Story_Object
  story_variants: [Story_Object]
  competitive_investment: float  // resources devoted to narrative elaboration
  narrative_dominance: float [0,1]  // success in cultural competition
  
  // Modular Cultural Architecture
  cultural_bundling_strategy: {integrated, modular, hybrid}
  domain_specializations: dict  // which cultural domains the group focuses on
  cross_boundary_networks: [Group]  // connections across cultural boundaries
  modularity_tolerance: float [0,1]  // acceptance of cultural mixing
}

Dynamics

Phase 1: Oral Transmission (12,000-3,000 BCE)

Story Propagation

Spatial Diffusion

Selection Pressures

Phase 2: Early Codification (3,000-500 BCE)

Literacy Emergence

Competitive Mythology Dynamics

Individual Narrative Selection

Feedback Loops

Phase 3: Imperial Codification (500 BCE-500 CE)

Large-Scale Dynamics

Institutional Mechanisms

Phase 4: Cultural Modularity (500 CE-1500 CE)

Emergence of Cultural Compartmentalization

Modular Cultural Architecture

New Competition Dynamics

Key Parameters

Environmental

Cultural

Institutional

Experimental Hypotheses

Spatial Predictions

  1. Distance Decay: Story similarity should decrease with geographic distance from source regions
  2. Environmental Correlation: Flood-prone regions should show higher story retention across cultures
  3. Cultural Boundaries: Story variants should cluster within cultural/linguistic groups

Temporal Predictions

  1. Oral Phase: High mutation, gradual diffusion, environmental correlation
  2. Early Writing: Rapid standardization within groups, increased between-group differentiation
  3. Imperial Phase: Consolidation around dominant narratives, suppression of variants
  4. Competitive Phase: Accelerated narrative elaboration, winner-take-all dynamics
  5. Modular Phase: Specialized narrative evolution, cross-boundary transmission, recombination innovation

Emergent Properties

  1. Universal Elements: Core flood narrative components should be preserved across all variants
  2. Cultural Specificity: Local adaptations should reflect environmental and cultural contexts
  3. Institutional Persistence: Written versions should show greater longevity than oral variants
  4. Competitive Sophistication: Narratives should become more elaborate in regions with high cultural competition
  5. Individual Agency: Narrative adoption patterns should reflect both psychological and strategic factors
  6. Modular Specialization: Advanced societies should show domain-specific narrative evolution
  7. Cultural Recombination: Contact zones should generate novel narrative syntheses
  8. Professional Transmission: Specialized networks should preserve and modify narratives independently of political systems

Model Validation

Archaeological Evidence

Linguistic Analysis

Historical Documentation

Implementation Framework

Simulation Architecture

Output Metrics

This model provides a framework for understanding how traumatic environmental memories can persist and evolve across millennia, ultimately shaping the mythological foundations of human civilizations. The progression from integrated cultural packages to modular cultural systems represents a fundamental shift in how human societies organize and transmit cultural information, with profound implications for understanding cultural evolution, innovation, and the modern fragmentation of knowledge systems.