The role of analogical reasoning has been extensively discussed by American archaeologists. Geologists and evolutionary biologists suggest two kinds of analogy are necessary in historical science. The distinction between immanent and configurational properties and processes in these affinal disciplines clarifies the role of analogical reasoning in archaeology. Examples of archaeological analogies reveals conflation of the two kinds of processes and properties. Distinction between immanence and configuration provides a basis to identify the potentials and pitfalls of analogical reasoning in archaeology.
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