Integrating Archaeological Theory and Predictive Modeling: a Live Report from the Scene

Archaeological predictive modeling has been used successfully for over20 years as a decision-making tool in cultural resources management. Itsappreciation in academic circles however has been mixed because of its perceivedtheoretical poverty. In this paper, we discuss the issue of integrating currentarchaeological theoretical approaches and predictive modeling. We suggest amethodology for doing so based on cognitive archaeology, middle range theory,and paleoeconomic modeling. We also discuss the problems associated with testingpredictive models