Within archaeology, these seemingly irrelevant items can enlighten students about the world around them through science, culture, and history. By using archaeology in the classroom, educators can lead students on learning adventures while engaging them in thinking about life in the past and who we are as humans today.
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.