Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology of Mobility

Humans are unique in their ability to inhabit an immense range of physical habitats. This capacity partially results from the need to cope with variation in spatial and temporal distributions of critical resources. Yet factors other than the search for food often impacts relocation. Information gathering, raw material collection, social networking, trade, and mate search each present mobility needs that compete with daily food searches. While physical evidence might explain such human behavior, ethnographic information can reveal how these events interrelate, providing the missing link between human activities and the remains preserved in the archaeological record.