The relationships of these objects and remains can be reconstructed, and aspects of their cultural meaning determined. Since so much of the material which survives the passage of time consists of tools, weapons, and other implements, archaeologists attach great importance to the technologies of vanished peoples. Model of an antler war club, used as a symbol of authority Ca.
Archaeologists use various terms to describe their finds.
In general, however, to record the relationships between artifacts, features and samples, archaeologists first map and grid a site, establishing squares of uniform dimensions. Then they excavate the deposits within these squares and record the position of what they find in terms of its distance and depth from one or more fixed reference points. The interpretation of the evidence makes it possible to reconstruct a sequence of events over a period of time and build a model of the site. Stratigraphy is a basic concept of archaeology. Simply, this means that the oldest remains at a site are found at the deepest levels, with the more recent in progressive layers one on top of the other, up to the present-day surface of the ground.