Archaeologists study past societies primarly through their material remains like buildings, tools,

artefacts and constitute a material culture from former societies. But, the problem is how to
interpret the material culture in human terms. At this juncture, Archaeology works overlap with
ethnography. So, Archaeologists to deal with this problem have developed new concept Ethno-
Archaeology. Ethno Archaeology, similar to Ethnography but with the specific purpose of
understanding how such societies use material culture.

Ethno-Archaeology can be defined as the study of contemporary cultures with a view to

understanding the behavioural relationships which underline the production of material culture."
Ethno-Archaeology was one of the most significant recent developments in the Anthropological
discipline.

The significance of Ethno-Archaeology-:

 Archaeology record can only be understood, if we know how it came & how it formed.
Formation process is now a major focus of study. Ethno-Archaeology, improve in
understanding the Archaeological record.
 Eg: Study of Butchery practices among the Eskimo of Alaska undertaken by Lewis
Binford, provided him new ideas of how Archaeology have been formed.
 Ethno-Archaeology emphasises more on explanation. Explaining how the Archaeological
record was formed & what excavated structure & artefacts might mean in terms of human
behaviour. Ethno-Archaeology was nothing new, as Anthropologists had already studied
the American Indians & Australian Aborigines since the 19th century. But, the
Archaelogical focus was the new one.
 Ethno-Archaeology is an indirect approach to understanding any past society.
 Ethno-Archaeology evidence focuses on both general & specific questions.

Ethno-archaeology

Ethnoarchaeology, which gained recognition as an interdisciplinary academic discipline in

the second half of the 20th century, can be defined as the ethnographic study of people for
archaeological purposes and involves the study of the material remains of diverse societies.
Ethnoarchaeology helps archaeologists to reconstruct ancient ways of life by studying the
material and non-material traditions of modern societies. It is at the confluence of the fields of
archaeology and anthropology that yields unique and fascinating insights on the human past.

This is a widespread research strategy for bridging the present and the past. It holds a very
special position in the process of reconstructing the past, since it allows archaeologists to build
frames of reference from the ethnographic present to explore, test, and infer about past
phenomena.
Ethnoarchaeologists learn from contemporary societies, exploring the fine distinction of current
human behaviors in search of more refined and varied models to enhance our interpretive tools.
Nowadays, the world is facing major changes, as economic insecurity, cultural and social
conflicts are rapidly altering global equilibria. In this transforming scenario, the development of
anthropological and archaeological research is directly affected by reduced accessibility to
regions or states and widespread decrease in funding.

However, the questions that hold center stage are:

Can a reshaped ethnoarchaeology mitigate these current problems and reconfigure, once again,
as an innovative research strategy?