Archaeology

The study of human history, specifically ancient civilizations and cultures, based on the findings, analyses and comparative study of material evidence and data collected which include artifacts, architecture, biofacts, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology utilizes all fields of science to survey, analyze, interpret and record findings that have been discovered and excavated. Since most of human history (prehistory) lacks written documentation, archaeology offers a method of adding information to augment and increase knowledge about the past. It should be noted that inscription on architectural ruins, coins or //ostraca// (pottery shards) is especially crucial to reconstructing periods of time. From the time the field developed in the nineteenth century, and after geologists realized that the earth was billions of years old as opposed to millions, and man was millions of years old as opposed to thousands, advances in technology and methodology have consistently progressed; so much so, that many widely held theories have been overturned as certain archaeological discoveries have actually negated previously accepted historical conjecture. At the same time, archaeology may also uphold extant historical concepts. Still the possibility remains that with new archaeological discoveries and systematic comparative analyses of the findings, new questions and considerations will most certainly arise. FB