Ethnoarchaeology aids archaeologists in reconstructing ancient lifeways by studying the material and non-material traditions of modern societies.
[1] Archaeologists can then infer that ancient societies used the same techniques as their modern counterparts given a similar set of environmental circumstances.
Although ethnography has long been used by archaeologists to draw analogies to the past, ethnographic data is not gathered with specifically archaeological goals in mind.
[3] Widespread acceptance of ethnoarchaeology as a true subdiscipline of archaeology did not emerge until the late 1950s and 1960s, as archaeologists began to explore the different scientific applications it might have.
McCall calls for a comparative view for analysis in his cross-cultural study of the Gamo and Konso of southern and central Ethiopia, the Siberian Chukchi, highland New Guinea, highland Maya of Guatemala and Mexico, central, northern, and western arid regions of Australia, the Tjmba of northern Namibia, and the Xeta of Amazonia and their uses of lithics.
Gould and his team explains how archaeologists should be able to measure the degree of differences between the tools found with the ethnographic material and the artifacts [8] However, while this technique may be useful it is important to note that it does not account for cultural change over time.
[5] Ethnography can provide insights of value to archaeologists into how people in the past may have lived, especially with regard to their social structures, religious beliefs and other aspects of their culture.