Definition: Ethnoarchaeology is the use of ethnologic (anthropological) data from living groups as an analogy for understanding people of the past. The term was first used by Americanist Jesse Fewkes about 1900, but the early forms of ethnoarchaeology were rough-and-ready, freely applying modern cultural data to the past. In recent decades, archaeologists such as Patti Jo Watson, Lewis Binford, Susan Kent, Nicholas David and Richard Gould (to mention only a very few) have taken a more dyspeptic view of the direct application of anthropological data, still using ethnographic data, but arguing for caution.
Recent Ethnoarchaeology Studies
Beck, Margaret E. 2006 Midden ceramic assemblage formation: a case study from Kalinga, Philippines. American Antiquity 71:27-52.
Hayashida, Frances M. 2008 Ancient beer and modern brewers: Ethnoarchaeological observations of chicha production in two regions of the North Coast of Peru. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 27(2):161-174.
Hutson, Scott R., et al. 2007 Beyond the buildings: Formation processes of ancient Maya houselots and methods for the study of non-architectural space. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26(3):442-473.
Sullivan III, Alan P. 2008 Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Perspectives on Ceramic Vessels and Annual Accumulation Rates of Sherds. American Antiquity 73(1):
Tsartsidou, Georgia, Simcha Lev-Yadun, Nikos Efstratiou, and Steve Weiner 2008 Ethnoarchaeological study of phytolith assemblages from an agro-pastoral village in Northern Greece (Sarakini): development and application of a Phytolith Difference Index. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(3):600-613.
This glossary entry is a part of the Guide to the Subdisciplines of Archaeology, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
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