Most Read This Week In 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

Most Read This Week Tagged "Archaeology"

The Antique Store Detective (Bella Winter Mystery)

Tomb of the Sun King (Raiders of the Arcana #2)

The Ark Files (Eden Black Archaeological Thrillers #1)

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

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

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

Dark Dive (Underwater Investigation Unit, #5)

Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse

A Time to Seek (The Time Travel Journals of Sahara Aldridge #1)

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

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder

The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction

Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond

The Cleopatra Cipher (Adrian West Adventures #1)

Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern

The Far Edges of the Known World: Life Beyond the Borders of Ancient Civilization

Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Empire

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

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

When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel's Enemies Don't Want You To Know

Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age

The Buried City: Unearthing the Real Pompeii

Ancestors: A History of Britain in Seven Burials

Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the Wisdom of What Lies Beneath Us

Into the Storm (Evidence: Under Fire, #1)

River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Road

The Mesopotamian Riddle: An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman, and the Race to Decipher the World's Oldest Writing

Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain’s Ancient Places

The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone

Love, War, and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks

First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human

Buried: An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain

Curse of the Specter Queen (Samantha Knox, #1)

Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World

Wild New World: The Epic Story of Animals and People in America

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen

Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World

Of Silver and Secrets (Time's Lost Treasures, #2)

Steeple Chasing: Around Britain by Church

Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages

Αρχαιολογία αγάπη μου …έλα πάρε με από δω

Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas

A History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins

Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art – An Illustrated Exploration of Prehistoric Art for Kids (Ages 4-8)

Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: 100 Discoveries That Changed the World

Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws: And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific Curiosities

The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks

The Encyclopedia of the Weird and Wonderful: Curious and Incredible Facts that Will Blow Your Mind

The Secret World of Denisovans: The Epic Story of the Ancient Cousins to Sapiens and Neanderthals

The Return of the Pharaoh: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.

The Other Ancient Civilisations: Decoding Archaeology’s Less Celebrated Cultures (History Gifts, Ancient World History)

Sinkable: Obsession, the Deep Sea and the Shipwreck of the Titanic

X Marks the Spot: The Story of Archaeology in Eight Extraordinary Discoveries

When the Sahara Was Green: How Our Greatest Desert Came to Be

The World Before Us: How Science is Revealing a New Story of Our Human Origins

The Language Puzzle: Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved

The Naked Neanderthal: A New Understanding of the Human Creature

The Secret Life of Hidden Places: Concealed Rooms, Clandestine Passageways, and the Curious Minds That Made Them

The King's Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria

Pharaohs of the Sun: How Egypt's Despots and Dreamers Drove the Rise and Fall of Tutankhamun's Dynasty

The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World

The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins

The Atlantis Conspiracy (Adrian West Adventures #3)

Homo Sapiens Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution Rewriting Our Origins (The Rediscovered Series)

Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth

Stolen Fragments: Black Markets, Bad Faith, and the Illicit Trade in Ancient Artefacts

Big Meg: The Story of the Largest and Most Mysterious Predator that Ever Lived

The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World

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Quotes Tagged “Archaeology”

“ Discover how to visit the past and bring yesterday's stories into our lives today ...more ”
― Gillian Hovell, 'Visiting the Past'

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“ I will tell you a little secret about archaeologists, dear Reader. They all pretend t be very high-minded. They claim that their sole aim in excavation is to uncover the mysteries of the past and add to the store of human knowledge. They lie. What they really want is a spectacular discovery, so they can get their names in the newspapers and inspire envy and hatred in the hearts of their rivals. ”
― Elizabeth Peters, The Deeds of the Disturber

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