This article looks at the way archaeology and history have been practised and taught at the Livingstone Museum, Zambia and the University of Zambia in relation to each other as closely allied disciplines between 1973 and 2016. It identifies some of the areas in which they have either collaborated well, or need to do so, and those that set them apart in their common aim to study the past. The paper has identified a number of grey areas that have tended to be inimical to the advancement of the two institutions in their quest to advance the study of Zambia’s historical and prehistoric past. The paper is presented in a narrative form in which issues central to the development of archaeology are discussed and challenges highlighted. The paper has established that despite the close relationship that exists between archaeology and history and their practice in the Livingstone Museum and the University of Zambia, little has been done to ensure that the two disciplines benefit from collaboration.