archaeology
Sign in to savethumb|Excavations at Archaeological site of Atapuerca|Atapuerca, an archaeological site in Spain Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. The discip
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Archaeology is the study of human activity throughout history by examining and analyzing physical objects, structures, and landscapes that people left behind. It matters because it helps us understand how humans lived, developed, and interacted across different times and places by piecing together evidence from the material remains of past cultures.
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Article
36 sectionsContents
- History
- First instances of archaeology
- Antiquarians
- First excavations
- Development of archaeological method
- Purpose
- Theory
- Methods
- Remote sensing
- Field survey
- Excavation
- Analysis
- Subfields
- Historical archaeology
- Ethnoarchaeology
- Experimental archaeology
- Archaeometry
- Digital archaeology
- Cultural resources management
- Protection
- Popular views of archaeology
- Current issues and controversy
- Public archaeology
- Pseudoarchaeology
- Looting
- Descendant peoples
- Repatriation
- African diaspora archaeology
- Climate change and archaeology
- AI in archaeology
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Excavations at Archaeological site of Atapuerca|Atapuerca, an archaeological site in Spain Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. 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.
Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies around the world. Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. Derived from Greek, the term archaeology means "the study of ancient history".