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"

The American School of Spies: The Archaeologists Who Fought the Nazis and Saved the Treasures of Ancient Greece

Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World

Most Read This Week Tagged "Archaeology"

The Ark Files (Eden Black Archaeological Thrillers #1)

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

Arrow of Fortune (Raiders of the Arcana, #3)

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

The Way of the Bear (Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito #26)

The One Impossible Labyrinth (Jack West Jr, #7)

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

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

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

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

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

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

More archaeology books...

Lists

Guidance to Death by Daniel V. Meier Jr.

Ghost Ships, Abandoned Lighthouses and Other Eerie Vanishings in Fiction Part III

102 books — 3 voters

The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" by William Hope Hodgson

Ghost Ships, Abandoned Lighthouses and Other Eerie Vanishings in Fiction Part I

104 books — 7 voters

Adventure Books with Romance (not the other way)

186 books — 191 voters

When Secrets Bloom by Patricia Furstenberg

Best Books of Secrets

249 books — 144 voters

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

History, Adventure, Romance

162 books — 156 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

146 books — 102 voters

Featured News & Interviews

I Love the…’90s! A Throwback Reading List for the Decade

Read »

Quotes Tagged “Archaeology”

“ We should tell forensics that the murder weapon may be archaeological,” I said. “Archaeological?” asked Seawoll. “Could be,” I said. “Is that your professional opinion?” “Yes. ”
― Ben Aaronovitch, Whispers Under Ground

1 likes

“ [...] the success of Egyptian surgery in setting broken bones is very fully demonstrated in the large number of well-joined fractures found in the ancient skeletons. ”
― James Henry Breasted, The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, 2 Vols

10 likes

More quotes...