To Hell with Ethnoarchaeology … and Back!

ABSTRACT In 2016 Olivier Gosselain published a paper in Archaeological Dialogues suggesting that ethnoarchaeology should “go to hell”. His provocation misrepresents the ethnoarchaeology of the past quarter century, as is evident in a literature of which he appears largely unaware. Here we refute his charges, showing, for example, that ethnoarchaeologists neither regard the societies with which we work as living fossils, nor do we entertain naïve stereotypes regarding their workings. Our refutations are accompanied by commentaries on topics raised that introduce readers to the substantial recent literature. Far from a wreck, ethnoarchaeology, a form of material culture studies practiced by and mainly for archaeologists, has vigor and relevance, making theoretical, methodological and historical contributions that are worldwide in scope. And as we demonstrate for Africa, non-Western ethnoarchaeologists contribute substantially to the ethnoarchaeological literature.