The study of artifacts provides clues to the patterns of everyday life, ceremonies and economic system of that culture. Finally, archaeologists attempt to understand the processes that cause societies to change through time. These may deal with past human interaction on the environment or the influence of the environment on human activities. All of these reasons allow archaeologists to track human changes through time while having the potential to help us understand the present. In turn, archaeology can help us understand and appreciate how we are different, how we are alike and the reasons for these variations.
Archaeological sites are non-renewable, cultural resources.
Scientific archaeological research involves much more than the romantic notion of excavating. Nowadays it includes the study of information in scientific journals, collections held in museums and archives and using new electronic methods that do not disturb the soils. Excavation permanently destroys the context of the artifacts - the way artifacts and other material lay in relation to one another. Archaeologists follow an ethical guideline to scientifically document the information gained while excavating. The amount of excavating that can be done is limited.