Find more facts and information on our topic page about
archaeology
archaeology
archaeology The study of the past of humankind, especially in the prehistoric period, and usually by excavation. Archaeological research includes four stages. The most obvious is recovery of material by excavation, chance find, surface survey, and observation from the air. Digging remains crucial because it alone can recover the precise context of finds, without which they lose much of their significance. It can take a wide variety of forms depending on the nature of the site – an isolated grave, a long-occupied cave, a wreck on the sea-bed, a standing building, a modern construction site, and many more. Then, finds have to be turned into evidence by analysis. Their form, composition, date, and associations all have information to impart. Typology (study of changes in forms) can link finds from different sites. A whole battery of scientific and mathematical aids can be brought to bear at this stage. Thirdly, the results have to be built into a coherent story to give an account of what happened when. Finally, and often the most difficult task, reasons must be sought for the processes of cultural change.
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
|
Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation / The Archaeology of Israel: Construction the Past, Interpreting the Present
Magazine article from: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly; 1/1/1999; ; 700+ words
; JOHN R. BARTLETT (ed.), Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation...and DAVID SMALL (eds.), The Archaeology of Israel: Constructing the Past...judicious and respectful combining of archaeology and textual analysis. The first...
|
|
Practicing Archaeology: A Training Manual for Cultural Resources Archaeology
Magazine article from: Southeastern Archaeology; 7/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; Practicing Archaeology: A Training Manual for Cultural Resources Archaeology. THOMAS W. NEUMAN and ROBERT M. SANFORD. AltaMira...school dedicated to the subject of practicing archaeology; this volume has served as the textbook. According...
|
|
Archaeology of Asia.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute; 12/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; STARK, MIRIAM T. (ed.). Archaeology of Asia. xvi, 364 pp., maps, tables, figs...not clear to this reviewer if such terms as 'Asian archaeology' and 'global archaeology' are meaningful in any sense except that these enable...
|
|
Archaeology at the crossroads. (efforts to make archaeology more 'people-friendly')
Magazine article from: History Today; 1/1/1998; ; 700+ words
; Archaeology has changed, is changing, but needs...the Association of Local Government Archaeology Officers, came almost exactly seven...new planning policy guidance note on archaeology. That guidance note, `PPG16', has...
|
|
Applied archaeology
Magazine article from: Human Organization; 10/1/1999; ; 700+ words
; The need to examine applied archaeology stems from the long-held recognition...ones. The pace of applied work in archaeology has greatly accelerated over the...engine that drives much applied archaeology in cultural resource management...
|
|
Should archaeology be in the service of 'popular culture'? A theoretical and political critique of Cornelius Holtorf's vision of archaeology.
Magazine article from: Antiquity; 6/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; In two recent books, From Stonehenge to Las Vegas--Archaeology as popular culture (AltaMira 2005) and Archaeology is a brand! The meaning of archaeology in popular culture (Archaeopress 2007), Cornelius Holtorf wants us...
|
|
|
Jesus and Archaeology
Magazine article from: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly; 4/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...CHARLESWORTH (ed.), Jesus and Archaeology (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans...The Historical Jesus and Biblical Archaeology: Questions" (pp. xxii-xxv) and...Introduction: What Is Biblical Archaeology?" (pp. 1-8), the book contains...
|
|
Geohistorical archaeology: A perspective for considering the historic past
Magazine article from: The Journal of Geography; 7/1/2002; ; 700+ words
; ABSTRACT The term geohistorical archaeology was adopted to describe the combination...of historical geography, historical archaeology, and history. It is suggested that...of historical geography, historical archaeology, and history. This interdisciplinary...
|
|
|
Behavioral Archaeology: First Principles.
Magazine article from: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute; 12/1/1996; ; 700+ words
; ...eminent exponent of the behavioural archaeology movement in America, notes that after...autobiographical sketch of Schiffer's career in archaeology, which also traces the history of behavioural archaeology, and concludes with a useful catechism...
|
|
Digital Archaeology Announces $15 Million in Venture Capital Financing.
Business Wire; 2/7/2000; 700+ words
; ...Web Analytic Software Company Digital Archaeology Corporation, a leading provider of...contributors also include existing Digital Archaeology backers -- Kansas City Equity Partners...and White Pines Management. Digital Archaeology, which offers the industry's first...
|
|
Slave Lives, Archaeology of
Encyclopedia entry from: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
Slave Lives, Archaeology of The archaeology of slavery is a branch of historical archaeology focused on the analysis and interpretation of slavery through the use of material remains. The archaeology of slavery was originally referred to as plantation...
|
|
Archaeology
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History
ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY is the scientific reconstruction and understanding of prehistoric...short one hundred years of its existence as an academic discipline, archaeology's primary goals — reconstructing and interpreting past...
|
|
archaeology
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to British History
archaeology as a discipline attempts to reconstruct...written sources. However, increasingly archaeology has been able to fill in gaps, for...for’). In the 19th cent. archaeology rapidly established itself as the only...
|
|
biblical archaeology
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
biblical archaeology term applied to the archaeology of the biblical lands, especially those of the ancient...re-create the cultural setting of its time. Biblical archaeology developed in earnest in the early part of the 19th cent...
|
|
|
industrial archaeology
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to British History
industrial archaeology, a term invented by Professor Donald...interdisciplinary study, industrial archaeology has attracted a popular audience in...society, the Association for Industrial Archaeology, which publishes Industrial Archaeology...
|
