Beyond geomythology

an ethnobiology of fossils

Abstract

Ethnopaleontology is the study of the relationship between humans and fossils. So far, this emerging discipline has been dominated by geomythology, a research orientation that seeks to historicize traditional knowledge and narratives as premodern explanations for geological phenomena. I argue that this methodology fails to capture the most pertinent information about human interactions with ancient organisms, and instead primarily subsumes these engagements into an uncritical, ethnocentric narrative about the development of Western science. I propose that ethnopaleontology should be reconfigured as a study of cultures, embedded in ecosystems, extended over deep time – an ethnobiology of fossils.