Archaeology is the scientific study of past human cultures through their physical remains. By studying the remains of objects people created in the past, archaeologists can understand how those people lived and interacted with each other. Prehistoric archaeologists study cultures without written histories. Historical archaeologists study cultures with written records, and usually focus on the diffusion of those cultures throughout the world. The archaeological process begins well before an archaeologist moves the first shovel of dirt.
Archaeologists first develop questions about past life that they want to answer.
They base these questions in the social sciences and seek answers through scientific methods. After determining their questions, archaeologists seek data to answer them. Archaeologists find these data through either excavations in the field or collections of already excavated materials. Archaeologists do not dig a site simply because it is there. If the site will not answer their questions, archaeologists try to preserve the site for future generations to excavate.