Question

The method of study to suggest the use of a particular tool in the past by observing the use of similar tools in contemporary societies with similar environments is called as \underline{\hspace{2cm} analogy.}

• A. Ethnographic
• B. Cultural
• C. Archaeological
• D. Observational

Hint:

Remember that archaeology tries to reconstruct the past from material remains. Since the people are gone, archaeologists borrow information from ethnography (the study of living cultures) to breathe life into the artifacts. This bridge between the past and present is called ethnographic analogy.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question describes a fundamental method of interpretation in archaeology. Archaeologists often find artifacts whose function is not immediately obvious. To understand how these past objects might have been used, they look for analogies in the present.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- The method described is the use of analogy. Specifically, when the analogy is drawn from observing living or recent societies ("contemporary societies"), it is called ethnographic analogy. - Ethnography is the systematic study and description of human cultures. Therefore, using information from ethnographic studies to interpret the archaeological record is known as ethnographic analogy. - For example, if an archaeologist finds a particular type of polished stone in a prehistoric site, they might look at ethnographic accounts of recent stone-tool-using societies in similar environments and see if they used similar stones for a specific task, like burnishing pottery or processing hides.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The method described is precisely the definition of ethnographic analogy.