Ethnology Versus Ethnographic Analogy
A Common Confusion in Archaeological Interpretation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7738567 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter N Peregrine (0000-0001-9185-3348, Lawrence University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 316-329 |
| Publication date | 1996-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/106939719603000403 |
| OpenAlex | W2062187453 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 19 |
Archaeologists must use analogies to interpret the archaeological record. In recent years a number of archaeologists have made a strong case that many of the analogies commonly used are inappropriate because they are based on contemporary societies with potentially very different worldviews, interactions, and even adaptations from ancient societies. However, the distinction between analogies based on single ethnographic cases and analogies based on holocultural comparisons is rarely made. Moreover, the distinction between various methods of holocultural comparisons is completely disregarded. This article argues that Murdock's method of ethnology produces analogies that are not as problematic as either single-culture analogies or other methods of holocultural comparison. The article goes on to describe a variety of ethnological findings that may be useful for archaeological interpretation, and gives an example from the author's research on the late prehistoric Mississippian culture of North America
Analogy · Archaeological evidence · Archaeological record · Archaeology · Confusion · Epistemology · Ethnography · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Prehistory · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Computer Science · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy · Psychology
Cross-Cultural Approaches in Archaeology
Children's Play and Work
Human consumption of large herbivore digesta and its implications for foraging theory
Ethnohistoric documents as analogical tools
How Do Archaeologists Compare Early States
Material Correlates Analysis (MCA)
A North American Perspective
Submissiveness and Risk of Heart Disease
Considering gender analogies in southeastern prehistoric archaeology
Women, residential patterns and early social complexity. From theory to practice in Copper Age Iberia
Fishing for Dog Food
Social Hierarchy and Burial Treatments
Economy and Religion in the Neolithic Revolution
Testing Ethnological Theories on Prehistoric Kinship
Cross-Cultural Comparative Approaches in Archaeology
Matrilocality, Corporate Strategy, and the Organization of Production in the Chacoan World
The Birth of the Gods
Too Many Types
The Reaction against Analogy
Worldwide cross-cultural studies and their relevance for archaeology
An analogy by any other name is just as analogical a commentary on the Gould-Watson dialogue
An Archaeological Correlate of War
Living Floor Area and Marital Residence
Population Estimation From Floor Area
Indians of North America
A history of archaeological thought
Raoul Naroll's Contribution to Archaeology
The Birth of the Gods Revisited
Anthropology as a comparative science
An Archaeological Indicator of Matrilocal versus Patrilocal Residence
Some Archaeological Correlates of Ranked Societies
Floor Area and Settlement Population
Analogy in Archaeological Interpretation
A dialogue on the meaning and use of analogy in ethnoarchaeological reasoning
| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,57 |
| Citation span | 1998 - 2023 (26) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 16 |