Archaeology is the study of human civilization through remains such as bones, relics and buildings, usually dug up from the ground. Archaeologists attempt to recreate the past through their studies, mainly concentrating on humanity and the changes that have happened to us over periods of time.
Archaeology also studies many topics explored by historians but for archaeologists the study is more on objects found on or under the ground. It is very complex to study things from our distant past as it all depends on the soil and atmosphere as to what survives. Because so many items disintegrate over time archaeologists also have to use educated reasoning to fill in their incomplete view of the past.
Archaeology covers such a vast range of time that archaeologists specialise in different cultures and time periods. Today archaeologists study human civilisation from all over the world but it has not always been this way. Archaeology was originally established in the 19th and 20th centuries and at that time most of the work was done in Europe and a few areas of America.
As ‘writing’ did not exist until 4bc and was often biased (mainly written by the elite) until fairly recently, many documents that historians study do not tell us the full story of the general population. This is where archaeological findings can help us to understand a wider perspective of our past.
Archaeologists today are increasing public campaigns in order to secure larger funding and appreciation for their work; and with popular archaeology programmes on television such as ‘Meet The Ancestors’ and ‘Time Team’ larger projects into our past are becoming more likely as public interest grows.
Archaeology also studies many topics explored by historians but for archaeologists the study is more on objects found on or under the ground. It is very complex to study things from our distant past as it all depends on the soil and atmosphere as to what survives. Because so many items disintegrate over time archaeologists also have to use educated reasoning to fill in their incomplete view of the past.
Archaeology covers such a vast range of time that archaeologists specialise in different cultures and time periods. Today archaeologists study human civilisation from all over the world but it has not always been this way. Archaeology was originally established in the 19th and 20th centuries and at that time most of the work was done in Europe and a few areas of America.
As ‘writing’ did not exist until 4bc and was often biased (mainly written by the elite) until fairly recently, many documents that historians study do not tell us the full story of the general population. This is where archaeological findings can help us to understand a wider perspective of our past.
Archaeologists today are increasing public campaigns in order to secure larger funding and appreciation for their work; and with popular archaeology programmes on television such as ‘Meet The Ancestors’ and ‘Time Team’ larger projects into our past are becoming more likely as public interest grows.