On Premature Explanatory Closure, Accumulated Uncertainty, and the Ethics of Archaeological Certainty

This paper constitutes a methodological interpellation of contemporary archaeological practice, focusing on the systemic tendency toward premature explanatory closure in contexts where physical, logistical, and documentary constraints remain unresolved. Drawing on four convergent analytical studies, the work examines how circumstantial plausibility is frequently transformed into asserted certainty, and how explicit zones of ignorance are progressively replaced by stabilized narratives unsupported by simultaneous material and documentary verification. The paper does not propose alternative historical reconstructions, extraordinary agents, or speculative technologies. Instead, it addresses a structural misalignment between epistemic responsibility and institutional incentives, arguing that unresolved uncertainty is not a weakness to be concealed, but a necessary condition for methodological integrity. By reframing documentary silence and material absence as active constraints rather than passive gaps, this work advocates for a more ethically responsible archaeological practice—one that preserves open questions when evidentiary convergence has not yet been achieved.