Archaeology: Excavating Our Past

Archaeology: Excavating Our Past — page 3 — INTRODUCTION Archaeologists mapping their finds at Pachacamac Peru an indigenous town occupied from approximately 200 BCE to 1532 CE when it was sacked by conquistadors under the command of Francisco Pizarro AP Images

Archaeology: Excavating Our Past — page 4 — INTRODUCTION veryone young and old has a natu ral curiosity about past civilizations human cultures and how ancient people once lived their daily lives Popular movies television shows and books provide fictional adventure stories of the discovery of strange ancient cities with unusual char acteristics Archaeology tells the real story of how humans evolved and cultures developed Archaeological research is important because it is the main method used to learn about soci eties that existed before writing was invented It also provides additional knowledge about ancient civilizations that left written records The word archaeology was first used in 1837 The term is made up of two Greek words archaios meaning ancient or old and logia meaning learning or study At that time most archaeologists studied ancient things By the mid 20th century archaeological research had expanded to include finding out how and why cultures change Archaeologists use scientific methods and analytical technologies to answer ques tions about humankind's past They carefully locate and study artifacts or the remains of things fashioned by people Artifacts include habitation structures tools clothing

Archaeology: Excavating Our Past — page 5 — ARCHAEOLOGY ExCAVATING OUR PAST weapons jewelry and art Other materials such as the bones of animals that were eaten and residual plant materials that were grown or collected for food are also examined Based on their discoveries archeologists piece together the knowledge of when where and how ancient people once lived A place where evidence is found becomes an archaeological site At a site a team of archaeologists follows a series of standard ized steps to recover study and report on the artifacts made and used by ancient people It is equally as important that plant and ani mal foods eaten or discarded be recovered if available To accomplish a successful recovery sci entists first identify map photograph and evaluate the area Once an area is targeted for excavation they divide the surface of the site into a grid pattern of squares Locations where artifacts are found are recorded on the grid map which helps the team determine where to look for additional artifacts Archaeologists use computers to document each recovered object They also measure and record the position and depth of each artifact and take photographs or videos to capture recovery details for future research 10

Archaeology: Excavating Our Past — page 6 — INTRODUCTION Some artifacts and other materials from the sites are studied in laboratories To interpret the evidence archaeologists classify or group the objects often by shape Next they date them A widely used dating method is radiocarbon dating which requires organic material such as shells bones and plant parts The scientists then evaluate the objects to learn how and where they were made and used Finally they publish their findings in government and uni versity reports and scientific journals Some findings are also presented in articles writ ten for the general public The work of archaeologists is invaluable because it explains and protects the past The more people know about their past the more they understand how they are connected with IN each other and the environment of long ago This knowledge also helps show how people can successfully interconnect with the envi ronment today and in the future 11

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