The archaeological study of warfare examines the interrelationship between settlements, and evidence includes such things as fortifications and the remnants of palisades. Settlement pattern archaeology works on the basis that no settlement exists in total isolation, and examines the relationship between settlements and the surrounding environment. Gold, however, preserves intact, but, because of its intrinsic value, golden objects are often the rarest-either plundered in antiquity and melted down, or else stolen in past or modern times.Īrchaeology can involve the excavation of a single site, such as a house or camp, or the survey of an entire settlement, which studies the spatial relationships between human occupation and activities. Stone is virtually eternal, and metals such as copper, bronze, tin, and iron tend to oxidize and deteriorate. The best-preserved organic finds are in arid places such as the deserts of Egypt, frozen places such as Siberia, and waterlogged swamps and bogs where the anaerobic environment minimizes decay. To begin with, how are archaeological finds preserved? This depends entirely on the environment. As technology advances, so do the tools available to archaeology that could not even have been imagined when it was first recognized as a discipline in the late 1800s. Archaeologists now commonly work together with palynologists (who study the pollen record to reconstruct past environments), geologists, and other specialists. Although archaeology is not a “hard science,” like chemistry, biology, or physics, it usually employs hard scientific methods for greater accuracy, which will be discussed in more detail below.
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Many archaeologists working is this important area do not necessarily need higher degrees, with a BA or MA often being sufficient. A site is the place in which archaeological remains exist, and different archaeologists have different definitions of what constitutes a site this can vary from an entire human-modified landscape, to a city, a house foundation, or a buried fire pit.Īrchaeologists can work in a variety of institutions, from universities and museums (which usually require the archaeologist to hold a PhD) to cultural resource management (CRM) organizations and firms, which are responsible for making sure that sites are not destroyed in the wake of modern development such as construction.
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These often help immensely when it comes to dating a site or sites accurately. Historic archaeology, or text-aided archaeology, is assisted by documentation such as the cuneiform of the ancient Near East, Egyptian hieroglyphic documents and inscriptions, and so forth. Prehistoric archaeology refers to cultures that did not develop writing. Archaeology can be further subdivided into prehistoric archaeology and historic archaeology.