Experimental archaeology

Experimental archaeology tests hypotheses about the past by recreating technologies, activities, or conditions and examining the resulting evidence.

Actualistic studies: Studies that use observations of present-day processes to interpret evidence from the past. Experimental archaeology uses present-day processes to model how archaeological traces may have formed.
Experimental flint knapping: The controlled production of stone tools by striking or pressing flint to remove flakes. Knapping trials test proposed toolmaking methods against the flakes and cores found at sites.
Ethnoarchaeology: The study of living societies to understand how behavior creates material remains. It draws analogies from observed communities, whereas experimental archaeology tests processes through deliberate replication.
Middle-range theory: A framework connecting observable processes to archaeological traces and past behavior. It explains how experimental observations can bridge the gap between actions and material evidence.
Use-wear analysis: The study of microscopic and macroscopic traces produced on tools through use. Replicated tools can be compared with archaeological specimens to connect wear patterns to activities.
Replica tool: A reproduction of an archaeological tool made to investigate its manufacture or use. Using replicas can reveal what tasks a reconstructed tool performs and what traces it acquires.
Archaeological analogy: The use of similarities between known cases to infer explanations for archaeological evidence. Experiments can assess whether an analogy is physically plausible, but do not establish that it occurred.
Equifinality: The condition in which different processes can produce similar outcomes or traces. Similar archaeological traces may arise from different actions, limiting what a single experiment can establish.
Lithic reduction: The process of shaping stone by removing flakes to make tools. Replicated knapping tests how stoneworking actions produce flakes and characteristic debris.
Archaeometallurgy: The study of ancient metal production, metalworking, and metal objects. Furnace and smelting reconstructions test how ores and fuels could yield archaeological metals.

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