What is Archaeology?
The word "archaeology" was first used by the ancient Greeks more than 2,000 years ago. It combines two ancient Greek words: archaios, which means "old" or "ancient," and logos, which means "word" or "speech." In ancient Greece, "archaeology" meant a discussion or study of ancient things. Now we use the word "archaeology" to describe the science of how we learn about the past. Archaeology is the study of the people of the past through recovery and analysis of the artefacts and features they left behind them.
What does an Archaeologist do?
Archaeologists study past cultures through the analysis of artefacts and features which people have made, used or modified. Archaeologists investigate sites and artefacts to answer a specific research question or to save cultural resources from destruction, either from human or natural forces. The following are the steps an archaeologist follows in order to investigate a site;
• Research
Before an archaeologist begins a site survey, the area's background must be researched. The history can provide information about who lived there, what structures may have been in the area, and how the landscape has changed over time.
• Survey
An area is inspected to record the surviving features. Artefacts found on the surface or in subsurface tests determine the potential significance of a site and this decides where it would be appropriate to conduct further testing or excavation.
• Excavation
The portions of the site to be investigated are usually divided into 1 meter square areas that are meticulously excavated until no more cultural material is found.
• Artefact Processing
Artefacts are taken to a laboratory to be cleaned and catalogued according to classification.
• Analysis
The archaeologist examines the objects to learn how and when they were made and used.
• Reporting
A report containing all information gathered from the site must be written.
• Preservation
Artefacts are safely stored, at a university, archaeology depot, museum, or research facility so they are available for future study.
What is an artefact?
An artefact is any object shaped or modified by people, or as a result of human activity.
What is a monument?
A monument is any manmade or altered natural structure.
What is an archaeological site?
A locality at which there is physical evidence for human occupation in the past that is or may be able to be investigated by archaeological techniques.
What education and training does an archaeologist have?
Most professional archaeologists have an advanced University degree with specialisation in a certain aspect of archaeology such as survey, artefact analysis, conservation etc. This is coupled with several years of experience working on various types of archaeological sites.
Do archaeologists dig for dinosaurs and fossils? What is the difference between palaeontology and archaeology?
No, this is a popular misconception. Palaeontologists are scientists who study earth's earliest inhabitants, such as dinosaurs and fossils of other once-living things. They are interested in the really ancient remains of plants and animals that are now extinct and which are usually preserved in the layers of the earth as fossils.
Archaeologists study the remains left behind by people in the past. Archaeologists do not study dinosaurs and fossils, although they may come across them by accident while they are digging. Palaeontology teaches us about the history of the earth and its earliest inhabitants, while archaeology teaches us about people who lived in the past.
How do archaeologists find new sites?
The single most common way that archaeologists discover new sites is simple - walking over a freshly ploughed or cultivated field, examining the weathered and bare ground surface for the presence of artefacts. Also, archaeologists rely on information supplied by previous landowners, or by farmers who till the fields. New sites are also shown up by documentary research and aerial archaeology which is the mapping of previously unrecorded sites from the air.
Why should we care about the past? Why do archaeology as a subject anyway?
Most people feel strongly about the need to protect the past because knowledge of the past helps us to know where we come from. Archaeology helps us learn about the history of farming, language, literature, art, and war. The loss and destruction of ancient sites is a bit like burning pages in the diary of human history. The less we know about our past means the less we know about what it means to be human and how we are all connected, not just now, but long ago, and how we will connect with each other in the future.
Archaeology is also important because it helps us learn about how humans have interacted with the environment over time. The more we know about past human activity, the better we will understand what effect we have had on the environment and how we can help preserve the world and its resources for many thousands of years to come.
Why do archaeologists have to dig in the dirt for artefacts? How does the past get buried?
Over time, things from the past get buried under layer upon layer of soil and dirt. Imagine losing a house key in someone's backyard, or in the gutter. If someone doesn't find the key, it will get lost and eventually get covered over by dirt and rotting leaves or rubbish. The key may even disappear down a hole made by a rodent. It may stay there for hundreds of years before an archaeologist digs it up and asks important questions like: Who lost the key? When did they lose it and how? What is they key made of? What does the key open? What do the answers to all of these questions tell us about the world at the time of the key?
To many people it is a mystery how anything as substantial as a masonry building can become buried under layers of soil. The early stages of the process can be seen in modern times. Once a building begins to fall into decay, its timber parts will soon rot, this means that the roof will collapse before much time has elapsed. Fallen, decaying woodwork and small particles of soil blown in through gaping door and window openings, begins to form a thin layer of soil on the floor. On this layer and in small cracks in the masonry or rotten window frames small plants begin to root. An almost endless cycle of decaying vegetation occurs which in turn provides a rich bed of nutrients for other plants to grown in. As the walls begin to crumble, more dust and soil particles accumulate. Natural factors often add to the process. If the site is at the bottom of a slope, soil-creep will gradually bury the old surface. Sometimes human interference can accelerate the process where in the case of masonry buildings stones are taken away and reused. The removal of such material can rapidly reduce the amount of masonry to be buried.
Sometimes the past gets buried in more dramatic ways, from natural disasters such as volcanoes, mudslides, or hurricanes. When disaster strikes and destroys a town or a city, people will often build newer houses right on top of the old ruins.
Things are getting buried every day, and we may hardly ever notice it: streets get resurfaced, farmers plough in last year's corn stubble, autumn leaves fall, a river floods, a grave is dug, a garden is sown, and rubbish is dumped.
What tools do archaeologists use on a dig?
Archaeologists use many different tools on a dig. What tools they use depends on what they are excavating and where the site is located. Some tools can be as simple as a toothbrush, while others are extremely expensive and sophisticated machines and can be handled only by trained specialists.
The basic tool an archaeologist uses is a flat masonry trowel. Archaeologists use a trowel to scrape off layers of earth so that they can examine them carefully as they dig deeper and deeper. Small handpicks help loosen the earth and shovels are used to scoop the earth into wheelbarrows. The soil is the taken to an area called a "dump," "dumpsite," or "spoilheap." Dust pans and brushes are used to sweep up loose soil into buckets. Dirt is often put through a sieve or a sifter to catch small artefacts. Delicate objects such as skeletons, and other fragile finds, are excavated using smaller tools, such as dental picks and tiny brushes.
Some archaeologists don't dig in the ground, but excavate underwater sites. Underwater archaeology requires a different set of tools. Instead of shovelling dirt into buckets, underwater archaeologists use tools that work like gigantic vacuum cleaners to suck up sand and loose sediment that covers artefacts and then blow it away from the site. Heavy artefacts are lifted to the surface using giant balloons called liftbags. Underwater archaeologists usually wear standard diving gear, which includes a tank of compressed air, an inflatable vest, a weight belt, and a wetsuit. They carry a measuring tape, a special plastic notepad that lets them write underwater, and a digging tool.
Archaeologists also use tools borrowed from astronauts to help them map and locate buildings and small objects from outer space. Satellite technology known as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) is especially useful for underwater archaeologists who find it difficult to use traditional measuring and photographic equipment, which can be adversely affected by poor visibility and currents underwater.
Some archaeologists discover sites from the air, using aerial photography. Archaeologists sometimes also use sophisticated tools and equipment with complicated sounding names. One of these, called a "resistivity detector," sends currents of electricity into the ground to "see" buildings beneath the soil. Electron microscopes magnify really, really tiny remains - like grains of pollen - so that archaeologists can identify them and learn what people were growing and eating.
What happens to artefacts after they have been discovered? Every artefact that an archaeologist finds must be carefully numbered and labelled so that we know where these important objects came from. If we do now know where an object came from, it cannot tell us much about the past civilisation to which it belonged. Artefacts are bagged and labelled in the field and then afterwards they go to the field house or the lab to get cleaned. Once the dirt has been removed from the artefacts, they get sorted and identified. Some artefacts may have to be carefully repaired and conserved. Others will be photographed. A few will undergo expensive scientific analysis to determine their date, or to identify microscopic remains such as pollen from plants or the bones from animals. All artefacts, however, are numbered and catalogued so that future researchers will know exactly what was found and where they came from. Most artefacts end up in museums and universities where they can be studied and enjoyed by everyone.
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