Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or archæology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains and landscapes. The goals of archaeology are to document and explain the origins and development of human culture, understand culture history, chronicle cultural evolution, and study human behavior and ecology, for both prehistoric and historic societies.

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See also:

Fossils & Ruins

• Cultures
• Ancient Civilizations
• Anthropology
• Lost Treasures
• Human Evolution
• Archaeology

It is considered, in North America, to be one of the four sub-fields of anthropology. A modern archaeological project often begins with a survey.
Regional survey is the attempt to systematically locate previously unknown sites in a region.
Site survey is the attempt to systematically locate features of interest, such as houses and middens, within a site.
Each of these two goals may be accomplished with largely the same methods. Archaeological excavation existed even when the field was still the domain of amateurs, and it remains the source of the majority of data recovered in most field projects.
It can reveal several types of information usually not accessible to survey, such as stratigraphy, three-dimensional structure, and verifiably primary context. Modern excavation techniques require that the precise locations of objects and features, known as their provenance or provenience, be recorded.
This always involves determining their horizontal locations, and sometimes vertical position as well.
Similarly, their association, or relationship with nearby objects and features, needs to be recorded for later analysis.
This allows the archaeologist to deduce what artefacts and features were likely used together and which may be from different phases of activity.
For example, excavation of a site reveals its stratigraphy; if a site was occupied by a succession of distinct cultures, artefacts from more recent cultures will lie above those from more ancient cultures.
For more information about the topic Archaeology, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Excavation — Excavation is the best-known and most commonly used technique within the science of archaeology. Individual excavations are normally referred to ...  > read more

Artifact (archaeology) — An artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. Examples ...  > read more

Archaeological field survey — Archaeological field survey is the methodological process by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) collect information about the ...  > read more

Iron Age — In archaeology, the Iron Age is the stage in the development of any people where the use of iron implements as tools and weapons is prominent. The ...  > Archaeology, archeology, or archæology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains and landscapes. The goals of archaeology are to document and explain the origins and development of human culture, understand culture history, chronicle cultural evolution, and study human behavior and ecology, for both prehistoric and historic societies. See also: Fossils & Ruins * Cultures * Ancient Civilizations * Anthropology * Lost Treasures * Human Evolution * Archaeology It is considered, in North America, to be one of the four sub-fields of anthropology. A modern archaeological project often begins with a survey. Regional survey is the attempt to systematically locate previously unknown sites in a region. Site survey is the attempt to systematically locate features of interest, such as houses and middens, within a site. Each of these two goals may be accomplished with largely the same methods. Archaeological excavation existed even when the field was still the domain of amateurs, and it remains the source of the majority of data recovered in most field projects. It can reveal several types of information usually not accessible to survey, such as stratigraphy, three-dimensional structure, and verifiably primary context. Modern excavation techniques require that the precise locations of objects and features, known as their provenance or provenience, be recorded. This always involves determining their horizontal locations, and sometimes vertical position as well. Similarly, their association, or relationship with nearby objects and features, needs to be recorded for later analysis. This allows the archaeologist to deduce what artefacts and features were likely used together and which may be from different phases of activity. For example, excavation of a site reveals its stratigraphy; if a site was occupied by a succession of distinct cultures, artefacts from more recent cultures will lie above those from more ancient cultures. For more information about the topic Archaeology, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles: Excavation — Excavation is the best-known and most commonly used technique within the science of archaeology. Individual excavations are normally referred to ... > read more Artifact (archaeology) — An artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. Examples ... > read more Archaeological field survey — Archaeological field survey is the methodological process by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) collect information about the ... > read more Iron Age — In archaeology, the Iron Age is the stage in the development of any people where the use of iron implements as tools and weapons is prominent. The ... > read more