1.1 Definition and Natures of Archaeology There is no consensus definition of archaeology.

Some definitions restrict archaeology to the study of the human past, while others include the present as well as the past as the period of interest. Some definitions focus on the objects of interest, such as the study of artifacts or the study of ancient civilizations. However, these differences do provide some indication of the breadth of the discipline. Archaeology is a special form of anthropology that uses material remains to study extinct human societies. It is the scientific study of past human culture and behavior, from the origins of humans to the present. In other words, it is the field that explains human behavior behind those events and understand the meaning of the past through the examination of the material remain. Archaeology also defined as the field that emphasizes the relationship between material object made by past people on the one hand and the behavior of the maker on the other hand. These remains include the fossils (preserved bones) of humans, food remains, the ruins of buildings, and human artifacts items such as tools, pottery, and jewelry. Archaeologists concentrate their studies on past societies and changes in those societies over extremely long period of time. They
relies on the physical evidence other people left behind. Archaeology is important since it tells us about the history and culture of the people that came before us. It tells us about the culture of the people in the past: the different languages and the forms of art and literature. It also tells us about everyday life, farming techniques, important ceremonies and rituals, and how people adapted and used their environment.

An archaeologist is like a detective that searches for clues in order to be able to put all the clues together and solve the mystery through excavation, which means digging up the ground, archaeologists try to understand the life of people in the past. By finding artifacts, which means every kind of object from the most common to the most rare, archaeologists try to find out what kind of people lived in a certain place, what they ate, how they lived, their environment, and their culture. Even things like garbage are of interest to archaeologists because they can learn a lot about the everyday life of people in the past from their garbage. Most of the artifacts and clues are underground, so excavation or digging up is necessary. There are many reasons why archaeologists have to dig to find artifacts and clues. 1) The remains of cities are usually always underground because when cities were destroyed, new cities were built on top of them burying the old ones underneath them. 2) Since there were no banks or safety deposit boxes, many people in the past buried their treasure for safekeeping. 3) People themselves were buried with lots of objects in the past, as it was part of their beliefs that they would need these objects in the after-life. These objects also showed the importance of the person being buried. 4) People in the past buried their garbage to get rid of waste. All the things they threw out now tell archaeologists a great deal about the society.

5) Natural disasters, like volcanoes or floods, buried cities or huge parts of them. Archeologists use a number of tools on an excavation site. The types of tools used depend on the kind and location of the site, as well as the stage of the excavation. Archaeological anthropology reconstructs, describes and interprets past human behavior and cultural patterns through material remains. Plant and animal remains and ancient garbage tell stories about consumption and activities. Examination of animal bones reveals the ages of slaughtered animals and provides other information useful in determining were wild or domesticated. By analyzing such data, archaeologists answer several questions about ancient economies. Did the group get its meet from hunting, or did it domesticate and bread animals, killing only those of a certain age and sex? Did the residents make, trade for or buy particular items? Were raw materials available locally? If not, were they come from? From such information, archaeologists reconstruct patterns of production, trade, and consumption. The quantity of pottery fragments allows estimates population size and density. The discovery that potters used materials that were not locally available suggests systems of trade. Similarities in manufacture and decoration at different sites may be proof of cultural connections. Perhaps they shared common cultural ancestors, traded with each other, or belonged to the same political system. The archaeologist seeks not only to reconstruct the daily life and customs of peoples who lived in the past but also to trace cultural changes and to offer possible explanations of those changes. This concern is similar to that of the historians, but the archaeologist reaches much further buck in time. The historian deals only with societies that left written records and is there fore limited to the last 5,000 years of human history. Human

societies, however, have existed for more than a million years, and only a small population in the last 5,000 years had writing. Most archaeologists deal with prehistory, the time before written records. But there is a specialty within archaeology that studies the remains of recent peoples who left written records- historical archaeology. Archaeologists ask all questions such as where, when, and how, and why did the distinctive human characteristics emerge? To collect the data they need in order to suggest answers to these and other questions, archaeologists use techniques and findings borrowed from other disciplines as well as what they can infer from anthropological studies of recent and contemporary cultures. Archaeology is not about the collection of artifacts for collecting sake. Rather, archaeology is about the acquisition of information about the past and applying that information to help understand the human past. It provides long term insight to contemporary problems such as the sustainability of different agricultural techniques and the impacts of environmental changes upon society.

1.2. Basic Concepts in Archaeology 1.2.1. Archaeological Evidences: Sites, Artifacts, Ecofacts, Features and 1. Archaeological Site Archaeological Site is: A place where artifacts, ecofact and features found. An area where artifacts and ecofacts indicate that human activity has taken place. 4

 Vary from a few stone flakes scattered on the ground to an entire ancient city. Sites can be formed in number of ways so that we can have a number of types of archaeological sites. Some results from only a short period of human activity such as butchery site, where animals were cut up for transport, leaving behind only some waste bone and a few worn-out stone tools. Another site might represent an encampment of a few days or weeks, including debris from the making of stone tools, food remains, and traces of a hearth or a ring of stones where a tent was pitched. Thus, based on the material remains discovered, archaeological sites can be categorized in to: butchering sites, settlement sites, commercial sites, military sites, Religious sites (worshiping palaces) and so on. 1. Artifacts:Artifacts are object made, modified or utilized by humans. A stone tomb or a discarded soup bone is also an artifact. In practice, however, archaeologists frequently use the term artifact to refer to a portable intentionally manufactured or used object. Artifacts: Are basic unities of archaeologic1 analysis. Sometimes fond singly, but more commonly artifacts of varying kinds are found grouped together. Groups of artifacts found together and appear to have been deposited together are known as assemblage. Sometimes an artifacts grouping was intentional as in the case of offerings that were placed with a body in a grave. These might include a bronze dagger a distinctive pottery vessel used for a food offering, personal items of adornment or the body such as pins, bracelets, and earrings. Other assemblages are unintentional such as in a trash pit, - include food wasted, broken pottery fragments, and other worn out and cast off items. Another example

of an unintentional assemblage is the small objects coins, pins, bits of pottery and glass that frequently accumulate beneath the wooden floor of a house. 2. Ecofacts: Are remains deriving from the natural environment, that are not intentionally made or manufactured by humans and become incorporated in to archaeological deposits. Provide information about past environments on ways of life. Include products of human activities such as the preparation and consumption of food. Food wastes may include animal bones or charred plant fragments and seeds. The analysis of these materials can provide insights in to what was eaten as well as how it was obtained, prepared and distributed. For instance the content of the Icemans intestinal tract indicate that he ate einkorn primitive wheat) that was ground to make flour for bread 1. Other ecofacts may enter the deposit purely accidentally. Pollen may be brown in by wind or carried on peoples feet. Pollen found in the Icemans intestinal tract indicates that he died in the late spring. Insects and small mammals such as mice may take up residence in peoples houses. Pollen, insect remains and the bones of small mammals can yield much valuable information about climate, local plants and animal communities, and the degree to which the local environment has been altered by human interference. 3. Features: Are immovable products of human activities that are affixed to or embedded in the landscape. Buildings, trenches, earthworks are few examples of features. Burials, hearths and stone pavements are smaller features. The soil discoloration left behind by the rotting away of timber post (a post model) or the fining of a storage pit are also features. Movable artifacts are frequently, but not necessarily, included with in features.

1.3 Types of Archaeology

The four main types of archaeology being undertaken to day are academic archaeology, archaeology in the context of industry (commonly known as CRM), Indigenous archaeology, and amateur (or vocational) archaeology. They are not mutually exclusive i.e. it is possible for a project to have more than one kind of archaeology. 1. Academic archaeology Academic archaeology invariably has explicit research goals and the clear objective of training students in archaeological methods. Generally, there are two basic components of academic archaeology: education and research. The education component of academic archaeology focuses on teaching students archaeology at different levels i.e. B.A MA .PhD. Academic archaeology often also includes a component of public education. The research component usually involves the collection of data from the field, including the identification and recording of sites, as well as the excavation and analysis of recovered remains.

2. Archaeology in industry Most professional archaeologists make their careers in industry, primary in the documentation and assessment of heritage sites. Throughout the world, governments have enacted legislation that requires archaeologists to assess the impact of potential land altering projects on heritage

resources, often leading to the documentation and excavation of archaeological sites. Cultural resource management the phrase used most commonly in north America to describe archaeological work being done in industry , particularly due to heritage legislation requiring the identification, documentation, assessment ,and in same cases the excavation of sites prior to land altering developments. In this type of archaeology, as a

form of applied (or public) archaeology, archaeologists apply their techniques of data gathering and analysis to manage sites that are threatened by contemporary development projects.
3. Indigenous Archaeology Archaeologists have recently begun to work closely with indigenous peoples at all levels of research. This has led to the emergence of indigenous archaeology, which is archaeology that that is done either by, with, or for indigenous peoples. Typical objectives of indigenous archaeology includes: Providing support for claims of indigenous rights and territory. Archaeo-tourism,

Education for their own and other (non-indigenous) communities,

and Nation building 4. Amateur archaeology Amateur archaeology, also known as a vocational archaeology, is an umbrella phrase for the work being done by people without educational credentials in the field, and who do not receive direct income from books they write or artifacts they sell. Amateur archaeology also includes people with little or no training in archaeological method and theory who

nevertheless theorize and sometimes write popular books explaining the origins of famous heritage sites. Many of the people who fall in to this category either have little knowledge or choose to ignore the fundamental principles, methods, and research findings of academic archaeology.

1.4. Subfields of Archaeology 1. Pre- historic archaeology Pre-historic archaeology is practiced by archaeologists known as prehistorians and deals with ancient cultures that did not have writing of any kind. It is apart of archaeology that deals with periods or events before the beginning of writing. It covers 99% of human past. Pre historic archeologists rely entirely on material remains for evidence. 2. Archaeology of early and ancient civilization They focus on the literate civilizations of the old world, such as Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Classical archaeologists are often as (more) interested in art styles of architecture and sculpture as in the social, political, and economic variable. They rely heavily on written sources and use archaeological methods to recover data from the ground. This category of archaeologists investigate how sufficient political and economic power developed to create and maintain early civilizations, what factors lead to the decline of such large and powerful societies. Until recently, they have had relatively little interest in the economic, environmental archaeologists. 3. Historical archaeology 9 and social problems that absorb pre-historic

Historical archaeology deals with periods or events with or after the advent of writing. This field of archaeology studies the remains of recent peoples who left written records. It is limited to the last 5,000years of human history. It accounts one percent of human past. They use both material remains and written documents as a source of information. Historical archaeologists also known as text aided archaeology. They use written records as guides and supplements to archaeological research. They work with remains more recent often much more recent than the advent of writing. Colonial archaeologists, for instance, use historical records as guides to locate and excavate post contact sites to verify or question written accounts. Contemporary historical records are usually field with political and religious matters. They rarely describe how people lived, the food they eat and the environment they lived. Much of the historical archaeology leads to reconstruction of ruined buildings as a part of national heritage. 4. Forensic Archaeology Forensic archaeology is the application of archaeological methods to criminal investigations, as well as the collection of evidence in cases of mass disasters. 5. Underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology uses special methods to study shipwrecks and other archaeological sites that lie beneath water. Archaeologists who 10

work

underwater

rely

on

sophisticated

divines

and

excavating

equipment and employ special techniques to preserve perishable materials that have been submerged for long periods. Like other archaeologists, underwater (marine) archaeologists have the same intellectual goals i.e. to recover, reconstruct and interpret the past.

7. Environmental archaeology Environmental archaeology is sub-field of archaeology where

archaeologists study the human use of plant and animals, and how past societies adapted to the ever changing environment. It views the human animal as part of the natural world, interacting with other species in the ecological system or ecosystem. The environment governs human life: latitude, and altitude, land forms and climate determine the vegetation, which in turn determines animal life. And all these things taken together determine how and where humans lived. 8. Social archaeology It deals with how societies were organized. The fundamental method of approach for social archaeologist is ethno archaeology. It involves both present day use and significance of artifacts, buildings and structures within the living societies and the way these materials incorporate into the archaeological records. 10. Ethno archaeology 11

Archaeologists in recent decade have developed ethno archaeology, where like ethnographers they live among contemporary communities, but with the specific purpose of understanding how such societies use material culture, how they make their tools and weapons, where they built their settlements. Simply, ethno archaeology is ethnographic archaeology with a strong material bias. Ethno archaeology involves the study of both the present day use and significance of artifacts, buildings, and structure within the living societies and the way these material things become incorporated into the archaeological record. Therefore, it is an indirect approach to the understanding of any past society.
Ethno archaeology refers to when archaeologists apply their observations of the behavior and material culture of contemporary people to interpretations of the patterning they see in archaeological sites.

11. Experimental archaeology

Experimental archaeology involves replicating possible past events to aid interpretation of archaeological sites and objects. They try to replicate

ancient techniques and processes (e.g. tool making) under controlled conditions. It is apart of ethno archaeology.
Dirt archaeology, which generally is taken to mean working in the field, looking for sites, and possible excavating them. Armchair archaeology is a phrase used to describe both professionals and amateurs who rarely, if ever, do field work, but rather focus their attention on explaining what has been observed by others, with out living the comfort of their home or office.

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1.5 Archaeology and other field of study Archaeology basically a multidisciplinary field having very close relation with natural as well as social sciences. It is strongly related to natural science fields both in terms of methods of study and dating and site identification techniques. Archaeologists enlist the aid of many specialists from other fields. In other words, Archaeologists use not only ideas, methods and techniques developed by themselves, but also derived from geology, biology, chemistry, physics, social sciences and other fields of study and their material remains. In terms of methods of study, archaeology particularly related with geology and evolutionary biology. What archaeology needs in studying the past like deriving hypothesis, observation, experimentation , analysis ,interpretation and conclusion are all related to geology and evolutionary biology. In terms of dating and site identification, archaeology borrows techniques from chemistry, physics and geography (social science). Archaeology is also related with social science fields. The main point of similarity is their common concern with human events or humanity. In this case archaeology related with psychology, history, political science, social anthropology and other humanity fields. 1.5.1. Archaeology and Anthropology Archaeology is a sub discipline of anthropology involving the study of the human past behavior through material remains. Both anthropology and archaeology study about human beings and the two often are confused in every day task. Anthropology includes archaeology but it is much broader than archaeology. Archaeology is a special form of

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anthropology that uses material remains to study the behavior of extinct human societies. It focuses on the study of past, rather than living human societies and culture. Most archaeologists study artifacts (the remains of items made by past humans, such as tools, pottery, and buildings) and human fossils (preserved bones). They also examine past environments to understand how natural forces, such as climate and available food, shaped the development of human culture. Therefore, archaeological anthropology is one of the subfields of anthropology studies earlier cultures and reconstructs daily life of the past society. It traces cultural changes to answer questions like how and why way of life changed through time. It explains such changes based on material evidence. Thus, archaeology is an important field of anthropology, which is the broad study of human culture and biology. 1.5.2. Archaeology and History Archaeology and history are the same in case of inquiring about human past but they are different in the time span they deal with. Archaeologists are concerned with gathering data needed to fill in the vast span of time before writing began to develop histories without written records. On the other hand, history studies human past from the time of the beginning of writing system. Archaeology also examines more recent historical periods. Some archaeologists work with historians. On the other hand, archaeology is different from history as it deals with distant past. Historical archaeologists use written documents as part of their research, and they may work in collaboration with historians 1.6. Goals of Archaeology Either in excavating or/and surveying, archaeologists hope to accomplish one or all of the five goals: to reconstruct the history of past societies (develop chronology in the absence of writing), to determine how people in these societies lived (reconstructing past life ways), and to understand why the societies changed through time. More recently, the preservation of cultural resources, and making archaeology relevant to the present considered as the fourth and the fifth main goals of archeology.

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1.6.1. Chronology Archaeologists carefully record their excavations in a way that allows them to piece together culture histories-chronologies (time perspectives) of past cultures. By investigating groups of prehistory sites and their many artifacts, it is possible to erect local and regional sequences of human cultures that extend over centuries. Excavations reveal the order in which remains were deposited, while laboratory analyses can give the actual age of remains. Archaeologists also document how each artifact or fossil lies in the ground in relation to other artifacts or fossils. This task involves careful recording of geological and artifact layers, or strata. Chronological data can provide information such as how the use of a new style of pottery or type of weapon spread from one region to another over time. By analyzing this information for several related archaeological sites, archaeologists assemble long sequences of past human cultures. Generally, by comparing artifacts from different sites, archaeologists study spatial and temporal relationships between groups of people. 1.6.2. Reconstruction The second goal of archaeology is to reconstruct the lifestyles of people who lived in the past. Building on information about the chronology and composition of sites and their environments, archaeologists reconstruct how life might have looked in particular places at particular times. The goal is to determine what people ate, what kinds of clothing, tools, and structures they made, and how and when they moved across the landscape in pursuit of food. The reconstruction of past ways of life depends on interpretation of well-documented material remains and environmental remains in their chronological contexts. Environmental remains may include animal body partssuch as bones, skins, and feathersas well as parts of plants, such as seeds, pollens, and spores. Ancient subsistence patterns; and even

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diet, can be reconstructed from food residues such as animal bones, carbonized seeds, and fish remains recovered during the course of meticulous excavations. 1.6.3. Explanation

We are all interested in how and why cultures change over time, for our own culture has changed dramatically, too. Archaeology is unique among the humanities and social sciences in that the objects it studies span great time periods. This has allowed archaeologists to study how and why cultures change in all periods and parts of the world. Archaeologists commonly use theoretical models, experiments, and observations of the world as it is today to try to explain what happened in the past. They have attempted to explain, for example, why people first began to walk upright and why civilizations that once flourished suddenly collapsed. Good explanations come from well-thought-out theoretical models that propose ways in which the existing archaeological record might have been formed. Explanations can include factors such as environmental changes, demographic shifts (changes in population makeup and size), migrations, and patterns of thought and behavior. Whereas reconstructions use physical remains to create a picture of the past, explanations are attempts to answer questions about the past. For instance, the reconstruction of changes in settlement and subsistence patterns of a particular society in the past does not explain why these changes took place. They might be explained by any one factor or a combination of factors, such as a dramatic change in weather patterns, an increase in the population, or a conscious decision to take advantage of new discovery such as agriculture. 1.7 Archaeology in the contemporary world
1. Archaeology in the context of industry The vast majority of archaeologists make their careers in the heritage industry, often working along side or in cooperation with historians, lawyers, lawmakers, indigenous groups, tourism operators, and educators.

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Archaeology is most prominent in the areas of documenting and assessing heritage sites, and archaeologists who perform these functions are generally considered to be working in the field of cultural resource management (CRM). Principal functions of the heritage industry:

o Make people aware of the value of heritage

o Enact legislation to protect heritage o Document heritage sites and objects o Assess the significance of heritage sites and objects o Conserve or preserve heritage sites and objects o Interpret heritage

o Present heritage
Archaeologists often lobby politicians to protect heritage sites and objects through legislation and other protective measures, and they have become increasingly active in the presentation of heritage in the public. Heritage tourism, which has become a multibillion dollar business, is one aspect of heritage presentation that has created considerable opportunities for archaeologists.

2. Archaeology in the context of politics There are three primary political contexts for archaeology: in the creation of a sense of national identity; the protection and investigation of archaeological sites; and the destruction of heritage sites and objects for political purposes.

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In many countries of the world, national identity is strongly tied to heritage sites even though research doesnt always link contemporary peoples of the region with the builders of the sites. On occasion, using archaeology to create a sense of national identity can have devastating effects, such as when territory expansion is justified on the basis of archaeological evidence. In the years leading up to World War II, for example, Nazis used archaeological research by German archaeologists in the neighboring areas, including Poland, to make claims that those lands right fully belonged to German , since artifacts recovered there appeared to have had a Germanic origin. A sense of national identity can also be created and maintained by the way archaeological researches portrayed. Since heritage sites are often used as symbols of identity, they have frequently been targeted for destruction by political regimes new to an area, in a sort of cleansing of previous regimes and ideologies. 3. Archaeology in the context of Global Social Movements Archaeologists seeking to increase the social relevance of the discipline often become involved in social movements, bringing with them the data, methods, and theory of archaeology. Conversely, the impact of social movements often challenges mainstream thinking in archaeology and leads to alternative interpretations of the past. Three social movements that have strong and links the to archaeology are feminism, Feminist indigenous has empowerment, green movement. thought

challenged the basic assumptions about gender roles in the past, such as perception that men were the dominant tool makers, artists, food providers, and leaders.

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Archaeology has benefited the feminist movement when archaeologist have debunked unsubstantiated claims of male superiority in past societies and focused increasing amounts of research on topics which hitherto to received no or little attention, such as child rearing, plant gathering, and other tasks often associated with women. Indigenous empowerment and archaeology also have a very close relationship. As an indigenous group around the world seeks to empower themselves and lessen domination by colonial governments, they often include evidence from archaeological research to support their claims to territory and rights. This has created much employment for archaeologists. Conservationism or environmentalism, the green movement focuses on environmental sustainability and conservation. Significant contributions made by archaeologists to the green movement include providing data on previous human use of the environment. Archaeologists are able to provide examples of the negative impacts of some subsistence and economic activities which may ultimately lead to the abandonment of regions and collapse of civilizations. For example, the archaeological record shows that irrigation may lead to increasingly saline soils, rendering them useless for farming. Rationalizing Archaeology Contemporary Rationalizations for Archaeology Archaeology provides information about the past so we can learn from our mistakes; Archaeology provides context for current global events e.g. understanding the conditions upon which warfare occurs. Archaeology provides a frame work for collecting and interpreting data

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 Archaeology provides a frame work for evaluating claims and ideas,

evaluating claims of territory by indigenous groups; evaluating popular ideas about the past. Archaeology provides a frame work for assessing the significance of heritage sites and objects. Determining which sites are worth conserving, preserving, or excavating in the advance of a development project.

Archaeology provides awareness and offers solutions to same

important problems associated with living in the early twenty, first century. Archaeology provides an important economic base Archeology is integral to heritage tourism, which is a vital part of economy in many areas of the world.

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