What Is Archaeology?

Archaeology can be defined as the study focusing on the human culture and dynamics of culture and its influence on the humankind estimated over a period of time. The primary objective of Archaeology is to analyse the human origin, its adaptation with the cultural norms and the logical reconstruction of human activities compared to the past events. Hence, it is quite understandable that the study of Archaeology encompasses a vast area that may include human pre-historical events to modern advancement as well. It may also cover any region or any culture to consider as its research area. Depending on the research area, Archaeological research can be sub-divided into two broad spectrums – one is prehistoric and the other is historic. Due to its major significance in order to find out the origin or root of the humankind in general, Archaeology is interrelated with the study of other disciplines as well such as physical anthropology, DNA analysis, X-ray emission microanalysis, and palynology to name a few.

Add Comment

Report

Archaeology gives us the story of the people who lived in the past. Archaeologists study the objects these early people left behind.There are two parts to archaeological work. Each part requires special training. The-first Part is excavating, or digging up the places where early people lived or worked. This is a job that must be done slowly and carefully. It includes keeping records of the work done.

The second part is the studying of everything that is dug up, and of describing all these things so clearly that the information can be understood and used by anyone interested in the past. When both jobs are finished, the archaeologist can write the story of the people.
The story is never quite complete, for it is based only on the things left behind by a people. Most often these are the objects that were used each day. The remains of houses, tools, jewellery, dishes and other containers, and toys are often discovered; bones of animals used for food are also found.

Many of the things the early people threw away will not be found by archaeologists. For example, objects that were made of leather, wood, cloth, wool, or straw are not likely to remain. These materials decay. And we may never know if the people were artistic, because lovely weaving and handsome woodwork may also be lost.

Archaeology began when people became curious about what happened in earlier times. In the fifth century B.C., a Greek historian, Herodotus, visited Egypt and was interested in the ancient monuments. But after the time of the ancient Greeks, this kind of curiosity seemed to have died.

In the 1500's travellers to Greece and Italy began to take an interest in the ancient monuments they saw there. The Italians began to poke among the ruins. They found coins, vases, and other objects. Soon more and more people became interested in "digging up the past", and the science of archaeology was on its way.

Add Comment

Report