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

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Archaeology Books

Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice

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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

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Lists

The Secrets of Greystone House by Marcus Attwater

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Adventures in Archaeology

27 books — 20 voters

Ley Lines, Ancient Roads, and Nemeta in Fiction

66 books — 10 voters

Tears in the Graeco-Roman World by Thorsten F. Gen

ANSGAR AND THE TROLLS by Patricia Stinson

The Elongated Skulls of Stonehenge by Maria Wheatley

Darkaeology

101 books — 2 voters

Lost Gods Of Albion The Chalk Hill-Figures Of Britain by Paul Newman

The Long Man of Wilmington, East Sussex by John H. Farrant

The White Horses of the West of England by Rev. W. C. Plenderleath

Hill Figures of England

32 books — 1 voter

Indiana Jones Omnibus, Vol. 1 by William Messner-Loebs

Raiders of the Lost Ark by Walter Simonson

Indiana Jones und die gefiederte Schlange by Wolfgang Hohlbein

His Dark Enchantress by Victoria Chatham

Raiders of the Lost Ark #1 by Marvel Comics

Best of Indiana Jones

41 books — 4 voters

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

480 books — 173 voters

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Quotes Tagged “Archaeology”

“ 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

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