Testing the Past
Experimental archaeology turns speculation into hypothesis-testing: replicate the technology, run the process, and compare the results with the archaeological record. If a reconstruction cannot actually work, it is not what happened in the past.
Flint knapping proves Acheulean handaxes demand hours of skilled reduction. Replica firings reveal exact kiln temperatures, while experimental earthworks show how ditches silt and mounds slump over decades.
Use-wear analysis uses experimentation for forensics. Cutting replica blades through hide, wood, or bone creates microscopically distinct edge polishes. Excavated blades can thus be read back to their exact job, alongside blood or starch residues surviving on tools.
Reading Ancient Minds
Cognitive archaeology asks what the material record implies about the thinking behind it, running arguments from physical capability to abstract concept:
| Evidence | Inference |
|---|---|
| Standardized tools | Shared mental template |
| Ochre, beads, burial | Symbolic behaviour |
| Transported stone 300km | Planning networks |
| Tallies, weight seals | Measurement |
| Monument alignments | Sky observation |
The discipline limit: archaeology recovers behaviour, and behaviour under-determines belief. A burial proves care and expense, but cannot prove a specific afterlife doctrine. Claims must focus on capabilities, not doctrines.