Succinctly put, archaeology is the study of past human societies.
While its goal typically ranges from
the understanding of human evolution to the study of cultural evolution and history – its means
typically involve the excavation and analysis of material
artifacts. Of course, defining it thus simplifies things considerably, as
archaeology not only derives its knowledge from the biofacts and
environmental data found at an archaeological dig, but also from the
architecture and other elements of the cultural landscape unearthed
there.
Leaving aside such arcane terms as “biofacts” and
“cultural landscape” for the moment, there is the question of what archaeology
means when it refers to the past. Here, the answer is self-evident, as the past
might refer to anything back in time from a dig made to uncover the petrified
feces left behind by a clan of cranially-challenged Cro-Magnons, to rummaging
in scientifically valid fashion through the bowels of an old Chicago warehouse
for Al Capone’s lost booty one step ahead of pseudo-archaeologists like Geraldo
Rivera.
As anyone sensitive to such things can tell you, such
terms as “biofacts” and “cultural landscape” readily identify archaeology as an
academic discipline that would never be so judgmental as to refer to
Cro-Magnons as “cranially challenged.” But here again definition
comes into play, as this discipline draws heavily upon such scientific and
non-scientific areas of study as anthropology (of which it is considered a branch
in the United States), history, geology, geography, art history,
classics,
ethnology,
geography,
geology,
linguistics,
physics,
chemistry,
statistics,
and paleontology
among yet others. This makes archaeology itself something of an art, and whether
it means finding ancient pot shards on the Potomac or prewar paint chips in
the inner city, archaeology is also an adventure that holds out the
promise of coming across something monumental in the understanding of human
experience.
As it's only natural for those who make a study of past societies to form societies of their own, such archaeological societies as those of the Archaeological Institute of America exist to sponsor national lectures as well as "locally-planned field trips ... tours, symposia, film festivals and study groups."
They can also tell you what a biofact is.
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