History of archaeology Flavio Biondo, an Italian Renaissance humanist historian, created a systematic and documented guide to the ruins

and topography of ancient Rome in the early 15th century for which he has been called an early founder of archaeology. Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli or Cyriacus of Ancona was a restlessly itinerant Italian humanist who came from a prominent family of merchants in Ancona. Ciriaco traveled all around the Eastern Mediterranean, noting down his archaeological discoveries in his day-book, Commentaria, that eventually filled six volumes. He has been called father of archaeology. After that, modern archaeology has its origins in the antiquarianism of Europe in the mid-19th century, where it developed soon after the scientific advancement of geology, which had shown that the Earth was billions rather than thousands of years old, as was then commonly believed. Soon after this, in 1859, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published, outlining his theory of evolution, eventually leading scientists to believe that humanity was in fact millions of years old, thereby providing a time limit within which the burgeoning archaeological movement could study. Meanwhile, in 1836 the Danish historian Christian Jrgensen Thomsen published A Ledetraad til Nordisk Oldkyndighed (Guideline to Scandinavian Antiquity) translated into English in 1848, in which he proposed the idea that collections of European artifacts from prehistory could be divided up into a three age system: the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.Thomsen was not the first scholar to propose the three age system (that idea dated back to Greek and Roman thinkers), but he was the first to apply these categories to material culture, and with that innovation came significant advances in the concept of seriation, or stylistic changes through time.

Archeology ( arkhaios, "ancient"; and -, -logia, "-logy) is the scientific study of past human culture and behavior, from the origins of humans to the present. Archaeology studies past human behavior through the examination of material remains of previous human societies. These remains include the fossils (preserved bones) of humans, food remains, the ruins of buildings, and human artifactsitems such as tools, pottery, and jewelry. Archaeology is an important field of anthropology, which is the broad study of human culture and biology. The one who studies archeology are called archeologists. Archaeologists concentrate their studies on past societies and changes in those societies over extremely long periods of time.

With its focus on the ancient past, archaeology somewhat resembles paleontologythe study of fossils of long-extinct animals, such as dinosaurs. However, archaeology is distinct

from paleontology and studies only past human life. Archaeology also examines many of the same topics explored by historians. But unlike historythe study of written records such as government archives, personal correspondence, and business documentsmost of the information gathered in archaeology comes from the study of objects lying on or under the ground Archaeologists refer to the vast store of information about the human past as the archaeological record. The archeological record encompasses every area of the world that has ever been occupied by humans, as well as all of the material remains contained in those areas. Archaeologists study the archaeological record through field surveys and excavations and through the laboratory study of collected materials. Archaeology studies human history from the development of the first stone tools in eastern Africa 3.4 million years ago up until recent decades.(Archaeology does not include the discipline of paleontology.) It is of most importance for learning about prehistoric societies, when there are no written records for historians to study, making up over 99% of total human history, from the Palaeolithic until the advent of literacy in any given society. Archaeology has various goals, which range from studying human evolution to cultural evolution and understanding culture history. An artifact or artefact (from Latin phrase arte factum, from ars skill + facere to make) is "something made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest".In archaeology, where the term is most commonly used, an artifact is an object recovered by some archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest.

Stone tools

Buttons

Jewelry

Archaeology also examines more recent historical periods. Some archaeologists work with historians to study American colonial life, for example. They have learned such diverse information as how the earliest colonial settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, traded glass beads for food with native Algonquian peoples; how the lives of slaves on plantations reflected their roots in Africa; and how the first major cities in the United States developed. One research project involves the study of garbage in present-day cities across the United States. This garbage is the modern equivalent of the remains found in the archaeological record. In the future, archaeologists will continue to move into new realms of study. Archaeology covers such an enormous span of time that archaeologists specialize in different time periods and different cultures. They also specialize in particular methods of study. Some archaeologists study human biological and cultural evolution up to the emergence of modern humans. Others focus on more recent periods of major cultural development, such as the rise of civilizations. Some study only the ancient or classical civilizations of the Middle East or Europe. Others research later historical subjects and time periods, using both written and archaeological evidence. Many archaeologists have expertise in other fields that are important to archaeological study, including physical anthropology (the study of human biology and anatomy), geology, ecology, and climatology (the science of weather patterns). Prehistoric archaeology is practiced by archaeologists known as prehistorians and deals with ancient cultures that did not have writing of any kind. Prehistory, a term coined by 19th-century French scholars, covers past human life from its origins up to the advent of written records. Historythat is, the human past documented in some form of writingbegan 5000 years ago in parts of southwestern Asia and as recently as the late 19th century AD in central Africa and parts of the Americas. Because there are no written records for prehistory, prehistorians rely entirely on material remains for evidence.

Different Types
Archaeology is a multidisciplinary science that encompasses many academic subjects like biology, chemistry, geology, history and art. It is considered a branch of anthropology, which involves the study of biology along with human culture. Archaeology is different from paleontology (the study of fossils), as it deals only with the past life of humans. Archaeometry: Archaeometry, also known as archaeological science, deals with the study archaeology, along with the application of scientific methods and techniques. Some of the scientific techniques include radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, artifact analysis, mathematical methods, remote-sensing, microscopes and environmental studies. Classical Archaeology: Classical archaeology, in simpler terms, can be considered as the study of the most civilized cultures of the world, namely, the Greek and Roman civilizations. By investigating and researching on these two ancient cultures, a 2000 years span of the classical history can be studied. Athens and Rome form the main sites of study for classical archaeology. Ethno-Archaeology: This archaeology type attempts to link the past with the present life. The basics of ethno-archaeology involve anthropology, which is associated with the archaeological theories. For example, studying the present day hunter-gatherer groups helps in examining the mode of hunting and gathering food in the ancient times. The archaeologists found that the past and the present day hunter-gatherers share some common aspects of life. Environmental Archaeology: Environmental archaeology deals with the study of environment by applying the archaeological principles. This is an interesting field for the science students, as the main focus is on studying soil science, sediments, pollens, diatoms and other environmentrelated archaeological factors. Environmental archaeology encompasses field studies along with laboratory experiments.

Historical Archaeology: This branch of archaeology includes the study of ancient history based on historical sites, artifacts and other historical documents that help in arranging the cultural chronology of ancient historic times. It is more or less similar to biblical archaeology that encompasses the study based on written records. It is to be noted that historical records are not always correct and hence, it should be supplemented with other evidences. Pseudo- Archaeology: Another sub-discipline of archaeology is pseudo-archaeology. As the name suggests, it aims at non-scientific approach and deals with real as well as imagined evidences to reassemble past life. The pseudo-archaeologists mainly focus on the evidences that contributes to the lost of continents like Atlantis and Mu. Underwater Archaeology: Underwater archaeology is an interesting sub-discipline of archaeology. It is associated with the study of underwater evidences such as shipwrecks, waterburied cities and other inundated archaeological sites. Archaeologists practicing in this field attempt to discover the submerged evidences by diving underwater along with sophisticated excavating tools.

Essence of archaeology 1.The archaeological record is the body of physical (i.e. not written) evidence about the past. It is one of the most basic concepts in archaeology,[1] the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record.[2] The archaeological record consists of the material culture found at an archaeological site. Material culture in terms of archaeology can consist of artifacts, built structures, human impact on the environment, garbage, stratigraphy, mortuary practices, plant remains, animal remains. Archaeological theory is used to interpret the archaeological record for a better understanding of human cultures. The archaeological record can consist of the earliest ancient findings as well as contemporary artifacts. 2. Archaeological science, also known as archaeometry, consists of the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archaeological materials. Archaeometry is now considered its own scientific field. Archaeological science involves dating and studying ancient materials. 3. An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record. Sites are distinguished by the presence of both artifacts and features. Common features include the remains of hearths and houses. 4. Archaeological theory refers to the various intellectual frameworks through which archaeologists interpret archaeological data. There is no one singular theory of archaeology, but many, with different archaeologists believing that information should be interpreted in different ways. Throughout the history of the discipline, various trends of support for certain archaeological theories have emerged, peaked, and in some cases died out. Different archaeological theories differ on what the goals of the discipline are and how they can be achieved. Some archeological theories are Processual archeology, This idea implied that the goals of archaeology were, in fact, the goals of anthropology, which were to answer questions about humans and human society. This was a critique of the former period in archaeology, the Culture-Historical phase in which archaeologists thought that any information which artifacts contained about past people and past ways of life was lost once the items became included in the archaeological record, and Post-

processual archaeology, which is sometimes alternately referred to as the interpretative archaeologies by its adherents,[1] is a movement in archaeological theory that emphasizes the subjectivity of archaeological interpretations. Within the post-processualist movement, a wide variety of theoretical viewpoints have been embraced, including structuralism and Neo-Marxism, as have a variety of differentarchaeological techniques, such as phenomenology. 5. An artifact or artefact (from Latin phrase arte factum, from ars skill + facere to make) is "something made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"In archaeology, where the term is most commonly used, an artifact is an object recovered by some archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest. 6. a biofact (or ecofact) is an object, found at an archaeological site and carrying archaeological significance, but previously unhanded by humans. A common type of biofact is aplant seed. Another type of biofact is an uncarved, wooden roof beam. 7. archaeological excavation has a double meaning.

1.

Excavation is best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology. In this sense it is the exposure, processing andrecording of archaeological remains. 2. The term is also used for an example of the application of the technique to the study of a given site. In this sense, an excavation may sometimes be referred to as a "dig" by those who participate, this being a concise, if oversimplified description of the process. Such a site excavationconcerns itself with a specific archaeological site or a connected series of sites, and may be conducted over as little as several weeks to over a number of years.

Methods of Archeology

Remote sensing Before actually starting to dig in a location, satellite imagery can be used to look where sites are located within a large area. Field survey The archaeological project then continues (or alternatively, begins) with a field survey. Regional survey is the attempt to systematically locate previously unknown sites in a region. Site survey is the attempt to systematically locate features of interest, such as houses and middens, within a site. Each of these two goals may be accomplished with largely the same methods.Survey was not widely practiced in the early days of archaeology. Excavation Archaeological excavation existed even when the field was still the domain of amateurs, and it remains the source of the majority of data recovered in most field projects. It can reveal several types of information usually not accessible to survey, such as stratigraphy, threedimensional structure, and verifiably primary context. Analysis Once artifacts and structures have been excavated, or collected from surface surveys, it is necessary to properly study them, to gain as much data as possible. This process is known

as post-excavation analysis, and is usually the most time-consuming part of the archaeological investigation. It is not uncommon for the final excavation reports on major sites to take years to be published. Virtual archaeology Some time around 1995 archaeologists started using computer graphics to build virtual 3D models of sites such as the throne room of an ancient Assyrian palace or ancient Rome.[36] This is done by collecting normal photographs and using computer graphics to build the virtual 3D model.[36] In more general terms, computers can be used to recreate the environment and conditions of the past, such as objects, buildings, landscapes and even ancient battles.[36] Computer simulation can be used to simulate the living conditions of an ancient community and to see how it would have reacted to various scenarios (such as how much food to grow, how many animals to slaughter, etc.)[36] Computer-built topographical models have been combined with astronomical calculations to verify whether or not certain structures (such as pillars) were aligned with astronomical events such as the sun's position at a solstice.[36] Goals of Archaeology There are four basic goals of archaeology. These are listed below, with brief descriptions of each. 1) Recovery, preservation, and description of remains this includes but is not limited to sites, components of sites, features of sites, artifacts, types, varieties, attributes, geofacts, and ecofacts. 2) Reconstruction of past lifeways 3) Decypherment of culture history there are multiple dimensions of archaeology. To properly understand culture history, at least two of the three major dimensions must be combined. The three dimensions, form, space, and time, can be related through diachronic studies (form over time) or synchronic studies (form over space). These are the most frequently, though not the only, methods used. 4) Reconstruction and study of cultural processes this is the biggest goal of archaeology, and can not be completed without previously completeing some of the above goals. Often this is nearly impossible to do on a large scale; however that is still ideal. Not every dig attempts to meet all four goals; rather archaeologists pick and choose which goals (and hence, which methods) can provide answers to their specific questions. The goals are listed in this order as that is the order in which archaeology developed throughout its history.