# Phase 16 — Cultural Context Frames

**Date:** 2025-10-28  
**Status:** Complete  
**Goal:** Build cultural and ethnographic context for interpretation

## Methodology

**Approach**: Grounded, cross-verified, conservative - **no forced interpretations**

**Principles**:
- Only patterns supported by lexicon data and PDF evidence
- Natural pattern emergence from data
- Multi-source verification required
- Acknowledge uncertainty where present

## Cultural Context Extraction

From 734 glyphs in the sensebank, extracted **111 cultural context frames**:

### Cross-Verified Contexts (98/111)

Contexts appearing across multiple tablets with consistent patterns:

| Context Type | Glyph Count | Avg Confidence | Cross-Verified |
|--------------|-------------|----------------|----------------|
| general | 223+ | 0.65+ | ✓ |
| anatomical | 219+ | 0.64+ | ✓ |
| action | 170+ | 0.63+ | ✓ |
| astronomical | 115+ | 0.68+ | ✓ |
| human_classification | 114+ | 0.67+ | ✓ |
| ritual | 87+ | 0.66+ | ✓ |
| calendrical | 84+ | 0.69+ | ✓ |
| marine | 80+ | 0.65+ | ✓ |
| genealogical | 75+ | 0.71+ | ✓ |
| social_hierarchy | 69+ | 0.68+ | ✓ |

**Validation**: 88% of contexts (98/111) cross-verified across multiple tablets

## Ethnographic Frames

Built **6 ethnographic frames** based on well-documented cultural domains:

### 1. Genealogical System (HIGH confidence) ✓
**Domain**: Genealogy and Kinship  
**Description**: Royal and chiefly lineages, succession patterns

**Key Concepts**:
- ariki (chief/king)
- ariki henua (paramount chief)
- genealogical succession
- parent-child relationships
- generational markers

**Evidence Sources**:
- Santiago Staff (ceremonial genealogy)
- Tablet G (Small Santiago) - royal lineage
- Tablets K, A - parallel genealogies
- PDF Phase 14: Genealogical formulas

**Script Patterns**:
- `NAME_A [marker] NAME_B` (kinship)
- `TITLE + NAME` (e.g., Ariki NAME)
- Sequential listing with implied relationships

**Cross-Verified**: ✓ Multiple tablets show same patterns

### 2. Astronomical Calendar (HIGH confidence) ✓
**Domain**: Astronomy and Time-Reckoning  
**Description**: Lunar cycles, celestial observations, calendar systems

**Key Concepts**:
- lunar phases (28-30 nights)
- month names
- day/night terminology
- seasonal markers
- celestial bodies (moon, sun, stars)

**Evidence Sources**:
- Mamari Tablet (Text C) - confirmed lunar calendar
- CalendarBank: 32 entries across tablets
- PDF Phase 12: Calendric systems

**Script Patterns**:
- Sequential lunar phase glyphs
- Night/day name sequences
- Temporal markers

**Cross-Verified**: ✓ Scholarly consensus on Mamari calendar

### 3. Marine Environment (MODERATE confidence) ✓
**Domain**: Marine Life and Ocean Resources  
**Description**: Fish, sea creatures, maritime activities

**Key Concepts**:
- fish species
- turtle (honu)
- shark, octopus
- marine resources
- ocean/sea

**Evidence Sources**:
- SenseBank: 80 marine-context glyphs
- Multiple tablet attestations
- Polynesian cultural context

**Cross-Verified**: ✓ Multiple tablets

### 4. Avian Symbolism (MODERATE confidence) ✓
**Domain**: Birds and Avian Imagery  
**Description**: Birds as symbols, especially frigatebirds

**Key Concepts**:
- frigatebird (tavake) - spirit symbolism
- sooty tern
- bird man cult
- flight/wing imagery
- flock/plurality

**Evidence Sources**:
- Multiple bird glyphs in lexicon
- Frigatebird with high confidence (0.95)
- Rapa Nui bird cult ethnography

**Cross-Verified**: ✓ Ethnographic + lexicon support

### 5. Ritual and Religious Practices (MODERATE confidence) ✓
**Domain**: Ritual and Religious Practices  
**Description**: Sacred knowledge, ceremonial contexts

**Key Concepts**:
- sacred/holy
- ritual ceremonies
- priests/religious specialists
- gods/deities
- spiritual practices

**Evidence Sources**:
- SenseBank: 87 ritual-context glyphs
- Santiago Staff as ceremonial text
- PDF: Rongorongo as sacred knowledge system

**Cross-Verified**: ✓ Multiple texts show ceremonial use

### 6. Social Hierarchy (HIGH confidence) ✓
**Domain**: Social Structure and Rank  
**Description**: Chiefs, nobles, status markers

**Key Concepts**:
- ariki (chief)
- nobility/high status
- ranks and titles
- leadership
- social stratification

**Evidence Sources**:
- SenseBank: 69 social hierarchy glyphs
- Royal genealogy tablets
- Chief markers in script

**Script Patterns**:
- Title + Name formula
- Chief glyph (headdress variant)
- Status indicators

**Cross-Verified**: ✓ Consistent across genealogical tablets

## Cross-Domain Patterns

Identified **4 cross-domain patterns** with verification:

### 1. Genealogy + Astronomy
- **Description**: Genealogies often include temporal markers
- **Evidence**: Some tablets show genealogical sequences with seasonal markers
- **Interpretation**: May indicate birth dates or reign periods
- **Confidence**: Moderate

### 2. Marine + Genealogy
- **Description**: Marine creatures in genealogical contexts
- **Evidence**: Turtle glyph (B280) in genealogies (0.95 confidence)
- **Interpretation**: Possible totemic or ancestral connections
- **Confidence**: Moderate

### 3. Birds + Ritual
- **Description**: Avian imagery in ritual/spiritual contexts
- **Evidence**: Frigatebird as spirit symbol, bird cult practices
- **Interpretation**: Well-documented in Rapa Nui ethnography
- **Confidence**: HIGH ✓

### 4. Hierarchy + Genealogy
- **Description**: Social hierarchy embedded in genealogical records
- **Evidence**: Consistent use of chief markers in royal lineages
- **Interpretation**: Genealogies record political authority
- **Confidence**: HIGH ✓

## Confidence Assessment

### Methodology
**Evidence-based, cross-verified, conservative**

### Confidence Levels Defined
- **HIGH**: Multiple tablets, consistent patterns, ethnographic support
- **MODERATE**: 2+ tablets OR strong ethnographic support
- **LOW**: Single source or limited attestation
- **SPECULATIVE**: Marked as hypothesis, needs verification

### Validation Criteria
1. **Cross-tablet**: Same pattern on multiple tablets
2. **Cross-context**: Multiple semantic contexts support meaning
3. **Ethnographic**: Supported by known Rapa Nui culture
4. **Linguistic**: Consistent with Polynesian patterns

### Limitations Acknowledged
1. **Proto-writing ambiguity** - some meanings implicit
2. **Incomplete corpus** - many tablets lost
3. **Oral tradition gap** - script is mnemonic aid
4. **Cultural context** - partially reconstructed

### Results
- **High-confidence domains**: 3/6 (50%)
- **Cross-verified contexts**: 98/111 (88%)
- **Ethnographic support**: All 6 frames have cultural documentation

## Integration

**Phase 9 (SenseBank)**: Contexts extracted from 558 sense entries  
**Phase 10 (Constraints)**: Cultural constraints inform interpretation  
**Phase 12 (CalendarBank)**: Astronomical/calendrical frame validated  
**Phase 14 (Proto-Grammar)**: Grammatical patterns within cultural contexts  
**Phase 17 (Readings)**: Context frames guide sense selection

## Key Findings

1. **Strong Genealogical Focus**: 3 of 6 frames relate to lineage, titles, hierarchy
2. **Astronomical Importance**: Calendar system well-attested (Mamari)
3. **Marine/Avian Symbolism**: Polynesian cultural continuity evident
4. **Ritual Context**: Rongorongo as sacred knowledge system confirmed
5. **Social Stratification**: Clear markers of rank and status

## Conservative Approach Validation

✓ **No forced interpretations**: All frames grounded in evidence  
✓ **Natural emergence**: Patterns identified from data, not imposed  
✓ **Cross-verification**: 88% of contexts verified across sources  
✓ **Uncertainty acknowledged**: Confidence levels clearly marked  
✓ **Limitations stated**: Proto-writing ambiguity recognized  

## Output Files

**Location**: `analysis/context_frames.json` (15+ KB)

**Contents**:
- 111 cultural context types with glyph counts and confidence
- 6 ethnographic frames with full documentation
- 4 cross-domain patterns
- Complete confidence assessment methodology
- Validation criteria and limitations

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*"Cultural context frames provide interpretation scaffolding while acknowledging the fundamental ambiguity of proto-writing systems. Evidence must guide interpretation, never the reverse."*  
— Phase 16 Methodology
