Throughout the history of archaeology, researchers have evaluated human societies in terms of systems and systems interactions. Complex systems theory (CST), which emerged in the 1980s, is a framework that can explain the emergence of new organizational forms. Its ability to capture nonlinear dynamics and account for human agency make CST a powerful analytical framework for archaeologists. While CST has been present within archaeology for several decades (most notably through the use of concepts like resilience and complex adaptive systems), recent increases in the use of methods like network analysis and agent-based modeling are accelerating the use of CST among archaeologists. This article reviews complex systems approaches and their relationship to past and present archaeological thought. In particular, CST has made important advancements in studies of adaptation and resilience, cycles of social and political development, and the identification of scaling relationships in human systems. Ultimately, CST helps reveal important patterns and relationships that are pivotal for understanding human systems and the relationships that define different societies.

纵观考古学历史，研究人员从系统和系统相互作用的角度评估人类社会。20世纪80年代出现的复杂系统理论（CST）是一个可以解释新组织形式出现的框架。CST 捕捉非线性动力学和解释人类能动性的能力使其成为考古学家强大的分析框架。虽然 CST 在考古学中已经存在了几十年（最显着的是通过使用弹性和复杂自适应系统等概念），但最近网络分析和基于代理的建模等方法的使用增加正在加速考古学家对 CST 的使用。本文回顾了复杂系统方法及其与过去和现在考古思想的关系。特别是，CST 在适应和复原力、社会和政治发展周期以及人类系统尺度关系的识别方面取得了重要进展。最终，CST 有助于揭示重要的模式和关系，这些模式和关系对于理解人类系统和定义不同社会的关系至关重要。