Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

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Recent scholarly works have consistently highlighted the potential of archaeology and deep historical insights to contribute to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The incorporation Traditional (TK), Local (LK), and Indigenous People’s Knowledge (IPK), into the framework of sustainable development has recently gained traction. While these forms of non-Western (non-academic) knowledge encapsulate millennia of experiential wisdom, the insights derived from <b>Long-Term Knowledge (L-TeK)</b> have yet to be fully harnessed. Designing solutions to today’s challenges based on the analysis of short-term data can lead to negative results and multi-faceted approaches are needed, involving mapping present-day traditional practices and investigating how past societies responded to the challenge of sustainably managing resources. This posits <b>ethnoarchaeological data as the most potent proxies for L-TeK</b>. We invite contributions highlighting how ethnoarchaeological and or experimental data can help in building frameworks to address current challenges. We specifically target works that use quantitative and or modeling data that can help in building models that can be applied widely, overcoming the particularity of single case studies. Contributions can be both theoretical or practical examples and applications. We also welcome critical contributions that favor more traditional ethnoarchaeological approaches to stimulate discussion.

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Other Keywords
Experimental Archaeology • Archaeometry & Materials Analysis • Ethnography/Ethnoarchaeology • Worldwide

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-12 of 12)

  • Documents (12)
Documents
  • Dung Microremains as Archaeological Evidence of Pastoral Practices: Exploring Low Impact Methodology to Understand Early Navajo Sheepherding in Northwest New Mexico (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Isabel Beach.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Spanish introduction of sheep to the U.S. Southwest in 1598 CE and their embrace by non-colonized early Diné (Navajo) communities in northwest New Mexico represent an important Indigenous cultural transformation in the history of North America. Not only were Diné lifeways...

  • The dynamics of crop spectra in the highlands of Odisha: an ethnoarchaeobotanical perspective (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sonja Filatova.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The highlands of Odisha (India) are home to numerous Adivasi communities who traditionally cultivate rice and millets in systems of shifting cultivation and permanent upland cultivation. Various agricultural policies have had notable impact on Adivasi crop spectra, increasing...

  • An Ethno-Microarchaeological Approach to Developing a Multi-Proxy Methodology for Identifying Human Use of Dung as Fuel and Construction Material (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Shira Gur-Arieh.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Animal dung has often been regarded as a secondary by-product of domestication, despite increasing evidence showing that humans recognized its value as fuel and fertilizer and used it both before and during the domestication of animals. Due to its organic nature, animal dung...

  • Ethnographic Analogy for the Study of MSA Hunter-Gatherers Complexity: Potential and Limitations (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Enza Spinapolice.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The aim of this talk is to discuss the organization of past hunter-gatherer groups by combining preliminary analyses of the GOT-10 materials with ethnographic analogies. Since the 1800s, ethnographic and anthropological data have been crucial in interpreting prehistoric...

  • <html>Looking at the Present to Understand the Past or <i>vice versa</i>? The Role of Long-Term Knowledge in Present and Future Policies</html> (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Carla Lancelotti.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this paper I reflect on how an ethnoarchaeological approach to food sustainability can potentially impact the design of sustainable policies by offering an alternative perspective to mainstream knowledge. In recent years the incorporation of time-tested practices,...

  • Keeping People at the Center of Long-Term Knowledge Transfer (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Willeke Wendrich.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Past persons were agents, cognitive entities that moved and acted in the world as part of a complex network of relationships: within communities and environments; with non-human animals, materials, architecture, and landscapes. Long-Term Knowledge may be built on different...

  • The long road: the role and the limits of ethnoarchaeology in the study of pastoralism (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Stefano Biagetti.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the mid-20th century, pastoralism was largely misunderstood, particularly within the context of land degradation. Major international bodies placed the blame for widespread desertification and environmental damage in drylands on pastoral practices. This narrative dominated...

  • Mapping Seasonal Sites: A High-Resolution Ethnoarchaeological Analysis of Material Culture and Faunal Remains in Mobile Pastoralist Campsites (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jean-Luc Houle.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This ethnoarchaeological study employed a high-resolution mapping strategy to investigate the distribution of artifacts and faunal remains at mobile pastoralist campsites used repeatedly in winter and summer in Mongolia. Through detailed surface surveys, we explored how...

  • Modeling Human Behavior for Sustainable Development: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective on Food Storage. (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elikplim Kuto.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper investigates the potential of ethnoarchaeology to contribute to sustainable development by modeling human behavior through the study of food storage practices. Ethnoarchaeology, the study of contemporary societies to understand past societies and archaeological...

  • On the Limits of Ethnographic Analogy: Ontology and the Self in Casas Grandes. (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jerimy Cunningham.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeologists have embraced ethnographic analogy because they do not believe their first-hand "modern" experiences can be abstracted into models that are applicable to ancient lifeways. Ethnoarchaeology has thus been tasked with studying “traditional” communities to create...

  • Traditional Living and Production Practices Based on Animal Husbandry in the Melendiz Region: Ethnographic and Ethnoarchaeological Approaches (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Burak Falay.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In Turkey, the Tepecik-Çiftlik Archaeological Research Project is engaged in ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological fieldwork in the Melendiz Region of the Volcanic Cappadocia Region in the province of Niğde. The project's focus is on the living and production practices of...

  • Women’s Gardens, Long-Term Ecological Knowledge, and Deep Historical Insights in the Upper Amazon (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Brenda Bowser.

    This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. What is long-term ecological knowledge (L-TeK)? What do scholars expect of Indigenous people’s historical knowledge? Where does history reside? Whose concepts of historical time are being considered? Over many decades, there has been a growing awareness among archaeologists...