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Archaeology is defined as

Archaeology is the study of ancient civilizations through material remains and their contexts, emphasizing the importance of archaeological context and stratigraphy. Key concepts include excavation methods, relative and absolute dating, and the relationship between archaeology and history. The field encompasses various sub-disciplines such as paleontology, archaeometry, and rescue excavations to reconstruct past human societies.

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4 views

Archaeology is defined as

Archaeology is the study of ancient civilizations through material remains and their contexts, emphasizing the importance of archaeological context and stratigraphy. Key concepts include excavation methods, relative and absolute dating, and the relationship between archaeology and history. The field encompasses various sub-disciplines such as paleontology, archaeometry, and rescue excavations to reconstruct past human societies.

Uploaded by

littttlemonsterboy
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Archaeology is defined as "the study of ancient civilizations based on

material remains of an activity carried out by humans, or on


elements in their context". This definition emphasizes the importance
of the context of the remains for archaeologists. The term
"archaeology" comes from the Greek words archaios, meaning
antiquity, and logos, meaning discourse or speech, thus "reasoned
speech on the past". An archaeologist is like a "time-traveler" who
attempts to create a discourse about an older human society, using
material elements discovered in their contexts to understand immaterial
concepts.

Key concepts and definitions include:

 Archaeological Context: This is crucial for archaeologists; they


consider any artifact in close relation to the environment in which
it was buried. Discovering elements in protected stratigraphic
contexts provides a true representation of an ancient society.
 Stratigraphic Contexts: These are the accumulated layers of earth
over time, whether natural or related to human activity. The
surface level represents the contemporary period, and the deeper
one digs, the further back in time one goes.
 Archaeological Excavation: This is the process of gradually
removing layers of earth, with each identified layer (stratum)
carefully recorded. This recording includes the location, altitude,
nature, associated human remains, density, and thickness.
 Relative Chronology: This is a temporal organization of the
discovered levels, which determines the sequence of past events
without specifying precise ages. It relies on the succession of
archaeological layers, where deeper layers are older.
 Absolute Dating: This involves using techniques to determine the
precise age of archaeological remains, such as carbon-14 dating.
This method measures the proportion of the radioactive isotope
carbon-14 in a sample.
 Contemporary Archaeology: This includes research on societies
from the early 20th century, battlefields from World War II, or
events from even more recent periods.
 Paleontology: This is the study of all living species that have
developed on the globe and in all geological eras, including human
species. Paleontologists focus on fossilized remains of flora and
fauna.
 History: Historians rely on textual (written) sources to produce a
discourse and narrate events. Archaeologists use data recovered
from excavations and compare it with written historical sources.
 Archaeological Survey: This is the process of exploring a
potential archaeological site to assess its potential and identify
occupation periods. The survey includes walking, noting anomalies
in terrain and vegetation, and utilizing aerial photography.
 Open-area Excavation Method: This method follows
stratigraphic levels step by step, with recording elements in
context, in a chronologically homogenous way. It favors a
horizontal reading by leveling the entire area, thus obtaining a full
picture of a single moment.
 Wheeler Method: This is an excavation method based on
organizing the site into squares, with earth balks separating the
squares for vertical stratigraphic sections. It has been abandoned
because of issues with tracing the extension of levels and it leaves
significant unexcavated areas.
 Harris Matrix: This is a schematic diagram used to facilitate
reading and understanding the chronological sequence of
archaeological layers.
 Archaeometry: This field brings together the sciences that allow
the measurement of things from the past by quantifying and
characterizing remains. It includes physics, chemistry, and
geology.
 Paleobotany: This involves the study of seeds and other plant
remains found in archaeological contexts, which helps to identify
plant species and reconstruct the natural environment.
 Archaeozoology: This is the study of animal remains discovered
during excavations, allowing for the reconstruction of fauna
present in the region.
 Paleo-environment: This studies the elements of the surrounding
area, the evolution of the landscape, and the changes in
watercourses.
 Rescue Excavations: These are excavations carried out urgently in
archaeological sites that are at risk of destruction.

These definitions and concepts illustrate the multifaceted nature of


archaeology, which seeks to understand past human societies through
the study of their material remains in their original contexts.

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