New issues of EAZ present approaches to rethinking archaeology

New Issues of EAZ present Approaches to Rethinking Archaeology

by Jan Steffen

Original publication: https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/cluster-roots/details/news/2026-02-16-eaz-59

Ethnographisch-Archaeologische Zeitschrift (EAZ), published at Kiel University, is a deliberately cross-disciplinary academic journal at the intersection of archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, and philosophy.

The regular issue 59 (1) and a special issue 59 (2) entitled “An Ontological Turn for Archaeology?” edited by Gianpiero Di Maida (Hanover, Germany) and Martin Porr (Perth, Australia) have now been published.

The regular issue 59 (1) centres around the latest developments in collaborative archaeologies and presents corresponding case studies from different parts of the globe: more than a decade of collaborative work with the Siksika Blackfoot in the Canadian province of Alberta, ethnoarchaeological studies of megaliths in Manipur (northeastern India), and an investigation of a Moroccan rural marketplace using Actor–Network Theory.

The focus of the special issue, “ontological turn,” refers to the latest call for a revision of the ontological foundations of anthropology and archaeology, specifically targeting the notion of culture. While the papers in the issue touch upon materiality, politics, art, human–animal relationships, and the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems, the guest editors also invite critical discussion on whether such “turns” are genuinely productive shifts in archaeological theory.

“Both issues bring together EAZ’s traditional interdisciplinary focus and innovative approaches, such as multi-species perspectives and multi-vocal study designs and interpretations,” summarizes EAZ editor Anastasia Khramtsova from the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at Kiel University. “Whether sharing critical reflections on practices in Indigenous archaeologies or discussing Neanderthal cognitive abilities, the authors emphasize the importance of connecting archaeology to real-life contexts.”

In addition to new publications, the EAZ editorial team is working to make previous volumes of the journal available online. Last year, five issues from 1974-1975 were digitised and are now accessible via the electronic archive on the EAZ website. This archive already hosts 53 other issues, containing contributions from 1960 to 2015.

EAZ was founded in East Berlin in 1953 and continues research traditions that originated in Germany in the mid-19th century. With its transdisciplinary orientation, it stood largely alone until the early 21st century. Between 2009 and 2018, it was published in Leipzig and increasingly included theoretical and philosophical contributions as well as analyses of the history of archaeological thought. With funding from the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, a relaunch was achieved in Kiel in 2023.

Submit your contribution to EAZ 60 (1) here.