The Secret of Archaeological Inference

Archaeology is a discipline seeking to understand humans’ past by studying the material remains. The research on material remains constitutes a fundamental feature of archaeology. However, the material remains (also called archaeological materials) do not speak, and all reliable information needs to be obtained through inference, so it is safe to say the key to archaeological research is archaeological inference! I have written articles such as the “Structure of Archaeological Inference” and “The Issue of ‘Seeing Humans through Materials’ in the Archaeological Researches.” These articles represent a stage of understanding and more on the framework. Recently, my understanding has deepened. Here I would like to discuss how to develop archaeological inference, which may help you understand the process of archaeological inference.