Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology (from Greek ἀρχαιολογία, archaiologia – ἀρχαῖος, arkhaīos, "ancient"; and -λογία, -logiā, "-logy"), is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture and environmental data which they have left behind, which includes artefacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes (the archaeological record). The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, and cultural landscapes. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history. In the United States it is thought of as a branch of anthropology, altho Archaeology, or archeology (from Greek ἀρχαιολογία, archaiologia – ἀρχαῖος, arkhaīos, "ancient"; and -λογία, -logiā, "-logy"), is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture and environmental data which they have left behind, which includes artefacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes (the archaeological record). The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, and cultural landscapes. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history. In the United States it is thought of as a branch of anthropology, although in Europe it is viewed as a separate discipline.

Archaeology studies human history from the development of the first stone tools in eastern Africa 3.4 million years ago up until recent decades. It is of most importance for learning about prehistoric societies, when there are no written records for historians to study, and which makes up over 99% of total human history, from the Palaeolithic until the advent of literacy in any given society. Archaeology has various different goals, which range from studying human evolution to cultural evolution and understanding culture history.

The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. It draws upon anthropology, history, art history, classics, ethnology, geography, geology, linguistics, physics, information sciences, chemistry, statistics, palaeoecology, palaeontology, palaeozoology, palaeoethnobotany, and palaeobotany.

Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, and has since become a discipline practised across the world. Since its early development, various specific sub-disciplines of archaeology have developed, including maritime archaeology, feminist archaeology and archaeoastronomy, and numerous different scientific techniques have been developed to aid archaeological investigation. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, ranging from dealing with pseudoarchaeology to the looting of artefacts and opposition to the excavation of human remains. ...more

New Releases Tagged "Archaeology"

Most Read This Week Tagged "Archaeology"

Neptune's Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire

Tomb of the Sun King (Raiders of the Arcana #2)

Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations

The Antique Store Detective (Bella Winter Mystery)

Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra (Charlie Thorne #3)

A Grave in the Woods (Bruno, Chief of Police #17)

Dark Dive (Underwater Investigation Unit, #5)

More most read this week tagged "archaeology"...

Archaeology Books

Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1)

Gods, Graves & Scholars: The Story of Archaeology

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts

Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

Ancestors: A History of Britain in Seven Burials

More archaeology books...

Lists

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony

480 books — 172 voters

Technological Slavery by Theodore John Kaczynski

Anti-Tech Revolution by Theodore John Kaczynski

Industrial Society and Its Future by Theodore John Kaczynski

The Human Animal

142 books — 100 voters

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking

Big History

269 books — 109 voters

The Secrets of Greystone House by Marcus Attwater

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Adventures in Archaeology

26 books — 19 voters

Best Books of Secrets

240 books — 126 voters

Exploration Fawcett by Percy Harrison Fawcett

Archaeological Adventure

14 books — 3 voters

Featured News & Interviews

Readers’ Most Anticipated New Books for April

Read »

Quotes Tagged “Archaeology”

“ Invisibility--there are things we can't see now, that are there, that are embedded, that it really takes time in order to be able to see. There are many ghosts that are lurking around and lingering through us that takes the technology of another generation or so in order to uncover and show what those stains and strains and perceived flaws really we're building towards ...more ”
― Lynn Hershman Leeson

4 likes

“ The geologist takes up the history of the earth at the point where the archaeologist leaves it, and carries it further back into remote antiquity. ”
― Bal Gangadhar Tilak, The Arctic Home in the Vedas

21 likes

More quotes...