Ethnoarchaeology, today: An effective way for learning about the past

Abstract

Defining the content, goals and methodology of Ethnoarchaeology is a difficult task. Although the term had been used earlier, its birth as a discipline or device for learning about the past corresponds with that of the New Archaeology in the United States. Ethnoarchaeology has become one of the New Archaeology's Middle Range Theories. As such, it implies a whole series of theoretical assumptions subsequently criticized by Post-Processualists. Both theoretical camps defend opposing models of how Ethnoarchaeology should be conceptualized. At the same time, Ethnoarchaeology is often confused with «Living Archaeology» or with ethnographic analogy. This essay has two goals: on the one hand, it attempts, in purely theoretical terms, to clarify the scope and specific nature of Ethnoarchaeology; on the other hand, it presents a specific examp/e that illustrates the new ways of approaching the past that Ethnoarchaelogy now offers.