Cultural Anthropology
The term "cultural anthropology" includes the different actualist approaches integrated in the program: ethnoarchaeology, ethnohistory and ethnology. These are approached via a research problem aiming at improving the overall perception of population history. The study of the past inevitably provides a truncated view, regardless of the method applied. Analysis of modern comparisons identifies patterns that can aid in explaining an early cultural or technological phenomenon that archaeology is incapable of observing in its entirety.
The main research associated with this part of the project includes the ethnoarchaeological study of modern ceramic traditions, ethnological research on weaving techniques, geneaological studies on the Seno Plain and an ethnominguistic approach to the different dialects in the Dogon Country. The reconstruction of the settlement of the Dogon smiths has been directly integrated in the "Paleometallurgy" section of the program.
