Archaeologists take the clues left behind by the people of the past, and, like detectives, work to reconstruct how long ago they lived, what they ate, what their tools and homes were like, and what became of them. Archaeologists learn these things from the study of what people have thrown out or left behind-stone tools such as arrowheads and scrapers, animal bones, seeds and charcoal, pottery, glassware, and old cans, for instance. Archaeologists also study more complex remains such as fire hearths, storage pits, earthlodges, rockshelters and root cellars. Archeologists dig to find out how ancient peoples lived. To do this, they look for clues such as stone tools, pottery, plants and animal bones.
Archaeology is more than a dig.
Archaeologists do not spend a lot of time digging. Instead, they spend a lot of time in the laboratory, analyzing and interpreting their finds. That depends on the reasons for the excavation. An archaeologist generally look for a site that matches a particular research interest. The place that archaeologists dig is known as a site.