Archaeology Archaeology History , Mythology , Paleontology Archaeology is the study of ancient peoples and cultures by analyzing their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other remains.
Archaeology comes from the Greek archaiologia , meaning the discussion of antiquities.
An archaeologist studies former cultures and societies by examining the material things they left behind. This normally involves digging, either on land or the sea bed, and observing what is discovered, where it is found, and what is near it. Begun in Europe during the Renaissance, archaeology was used to explain chance discoveries of artifacts in biblical or classical terms. During the 1860s, the emphasis changed to the study of human development during the time before documented records and the use of excavation and field study begun Excavation of sites such as barrows, mounds, and kitchen middens unearthed multiple levels of artifacts. Reconnaissance techniques .