As ethnoarchaeology is an approach rather than a true discipline we should not expect overall progress of the kind observed in a subject like physics where research leads to ever deeper understandings of matter and energy and to applications of that knowledge. But neither is it, as in painting, a matter of the invention and perfection of techniques and the creation of masterworks that are not bettered but rather overtaken by new developments, technical and conceptual, in new historical contexts. Like other social sciences, ethnoarchaeology advances not on its own but in partnership with its disciplinary siblings, archaeology and ethnography, and within the larger context of social science and its philosophy. Early classic studies retain value but, unlike a Rembrandt masterpiece, their imperfections and lacunae (and not merely their differences) become apparent through developments in and beyond ethnoarchaeology. On the other hand, just as art students copy old masters, so too can we imbibe knowledge and know-how by analyzing earlier studies.