What do you mean by archeology?

Question

What do you mean by archeology?

Answer 1

the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.

Answer 2

Archaeology is generally considered to be the study of past people by means of the artifacts they leave behind.  Artifacts like pottery, trash (which is very useful, and not that gross), buildings, WRITINGS, mortuary tombs and temples, and basically anything else that can be found.

Most US universities as such have a multi-disciplinary approach, where you take History, Anthropology, Classics, sometimes even Science courses; as all are needed skills to work in the field or research.

Answer 3

The systematic study of past human life and culture by the recovery and examination of remaining material evidence, such as graves, buildings, tools, and pottery.

Pretty much that means carefully digging up ancient artifacts and recording the location they were found in as well as its condition.

Answer 4

it is the study of different human cultures throughout the world and how they developed through time... their origins, architecture, and behavior.

Answer 5

Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archaios, combining form in Latin archae-, "ancient"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") 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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archeology

Answer 6

arche  olo what??  did i say that? d**n i  musta dozed off while i was talking again,sorry

Answer 7

digging for old stuff. It is a difficult career. my sister was one, you have to bid for jobs, if you win, you have a certain amount of time to do it, you get paid. it is not a steady job. it is rough on your body. should be a second career/hobby or a hobby you have that makes you money.

Answer 8

I think Archaeology rocks! I'm studying it and have just recently finished my first fieldwork. That was cool. However, I don't plan to work as a field archaeologist, my interests are within museums and preserving the artefacts and sites that are found.

Archaeologists usually work in teams with other archaeologists or with archaeology students. Many archaeologists are employed by a university or a museum. An archaeologist is like a detective, in the sense that they both investigate clues to look for answers to problems. An archaeologist looks for clues to learn how past cultures lived, so that we can understand more about how present peoples live and adapt to the environment.

Archaeologists work at a dig site to gather data, and then spend the majority of their time in a lab analyzing this data. They eventually write reports on their findings for other people to read about and learn from. The type of work an archaeologist does requires a lot of patience and perseverance, and isn't quite as exciting as the "Indiana Jones" movies make it seem! Depending upon where they are located, some dig sites may be extremely hot and not have any running water (or bathrooms) nearby! Most archaeologists are willing to tolerate these conditions because they know that their work can lead to new theories about past humans and how they lived.

When people think of archaeologists going on a dig, they usually envision them digging up dinosaur bones. This is a common error that people have about archaeology. Archaeologists study past human life, not dinosaur life! Dinosaurs roamed the earth long before humans existed, and scientists who specialize in studying dinosaur bones are called paleontologists.

There are many ways that an archaeologist find sites. First of all, an archaeologist knows what environmental factors humans have always needed in order to stay alive. These include easy access to water, location on a trade route, and a geographic location that allows for natural protection. With this information in mind, an archaeologist can study maps to locate likely places where prehistoric people may have lived.

In addition to this, archaeologists often learn of sites when construction companies clear land to build houses, shopping centers, etc., and they uncover artifacts. Most states have laws that require construction crews to report their discoveries of artifacts and features to a local archaeologist.

Once in a while a farmer might happen upon an artifact while working in the field. Archaeologists appreciate learning of these discoveries, and having landowners cooperate with them by giving them permission to investigate these potential sites.

Some sites have also been observed from an airplane window, or what we call an aerial view. Sites like the Crow Creek Village near Ft. Thompson, South Dakota, are easily seen from an airplane. Large circular depressions in the ground can be observed, as well as a fortification ditch dug to protect them. The circles are the collapsed roofs and walls of the lodges in which the villagers lived.

If people build villages or cities on the same location over the course of many, many years, the elevation of the land in that particular spot will rise, creating a tell which is sometimes also called a midden. This provides an archaeologist with a clue that early people probably lived in that location.

Sometimes archaeologists use new devices such as radar from the Space Shuttle to find sites. This radar has found ancient trade routes in the deserts of the Middle East and ancient Maya cities in the jungles of Central America.  Underwater archaeologists who look for ancient shipwrecks use sonar to find them.

Once an archaeologist finds a site and gets permission to excavate it, his or her work really begins!

* Gridding

* Tools

* Labeling/Numbering

* Field Notes

Archaeologists excavate for three kinds of information:

* Ecofacts

They look for evidence about past environments. Things such as seeds, animal bones and soil are called Ecofacts.

* Features

They look for evidence of things people made or did that can't be moved, such as house floors or hearths. These are called Features.

* Artifacts

They look for evidence of the tools or other items that people made and that can be moved or carried. Objects like arrowheads or pottery are called Artifacts.

When people visit an archaeology site, or work on a site, they must remember that they are touching history. The artifacts and features they see are the only links there are to understanding the prehistoric peoples who once lived here. Since prehistoric people had no written records or diaries to leave behind, we are dependent upon the artifacts they did leave. Every artifact is like a piece of a puzzle; if even one piece is missing, the puzzle isn't complete. Archaeologists are unable to understand a past culture and how people interacted with the environment if any of the evidence is missing or altered.

The past human life that an archaeologist studies is a heritage that we all share... The past of our earliest known ancestors. it is our responsibility to respect and preserve this heritage by reporting archaeological finds to and archaeologist and not disturbing (not removing) archaeological sites.