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Ethnoarchaeology in Action. Nicholas David and Carol Kramer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 476 pp.
According to Nicholas David and Carol Kramer, ethnoarchaeologists and their field of inquiry do not receive the professional recognition they deserve. In Ethnoarchaeology in Action (henceforth, EIA), David and Kramer seek to rectify this perceived situation. They present a critical history of this professionally discrete approach and subdiscipline (authors' view and choice of terms) with case studies of its worldwide application and theoretical engagement (realized or potential). Written by ethnoarchaeological luminaries, EIA is the first comprehensive treatment of this body of research. The volume will be regarded for many years as the state-of-the-art analysis, an invaluable reference work, and an ideal and indispensable graduate-level teaching tool. Readers will be especially engaged by the abundant photographs of ethnoarchaeologists in action, most in the early stages of their fieldwork, that make for a delightful retrospective on some of the most successful careers in archaeology, ethno- or not.
With erudition, rigor (perhaps a bit too much criticism of colleagues), and evident professional and political commitment, David and Kramer lead us through the kinds of problems...