A brief overview of how archaeology contributes to the studying of history.

1. ARCHEOLOGY: A METHOD
OF STUDYING HISTORY

2. INTRODUCTION
• Archeology: the study of human history and prehistory
through excavation and the analysis of artifacts and
other remains.
• Artifacts found are a primary resource for
anthropologists, ethnologists, paleontologists, biologists,
and historians.
• Archeology is essentially destruction: once a site has
been excavated, it can never be reworked.
• Accurate and meticulous notes are essential.
• A grid is made of the site with all notes painfully recorded
in detail.

4. DIG TEAM
• Members of an archeological dig can include:
• Field Director: trained and licensed archeologist
• Supervisors and crew
• Photographers and surveyors
• Analyzers: historians, zoologists, botanists, geographers,
pathologists (medical)

7. TYPES OF ARTIFACTS
• Inorganic remains – remains like stone tools or pottery
that have been created
• Marks on tools can give information on what it is used for
• Stones used for specified tasks and their quarries
• Pottery is the most common of all archeological finds
• Style, clay, name of the potter all provide clues
• Organic remains – remains of living things (plants and
animals)
• Best preserved in dry/hot regions, freezing conditions, or in
waterlogged areas (peat bogs preserve flesh but not bones
because they are acidic)

9. CONCLUSIONS FROM FINDINGS
• Wood – was it from the environment or used by
humans? Used in buildings or as a tool?
• Human Remains
• Age - analyse the teeth for you, bone fusions for adults
• Sex – bone structure (pelvis, density)
• Disease – deformation of bones (arthritis, tuberculosis, syphilis)
• Cause of death – wounds from weapons (swords, holes)
• Archeologists are really just detectives or crime scene
investigators but of ancient sites

12. HOMEWORK
• Bring in one random item from home.
• Imagine it is the year 4000 CE and you are an
archaeologist examining these objects.
• Hypothesize characteristics of the civilization that left
these artifacts behind.
• Be prepared to defend your hypotheses with proof to a
partner or maybe the class.