It is these patterns that are the primary data archaeologists seek, not the artifacts as objects of value for trade and sale. The archaeologist then searches of patterns in the recorded data because it is the patterns that reveal how long-vanished people lived. The essence of scientific archaeology is pattern recognition. In other words, it describes how the data will be turned into information. The data is often found in different quantities and with different levels of integrity.
Some patterns are specific to a person and a single event.
These patterns are rarely preserved in the archaeological record because other nearby events, or later events, disturb their integrity. For example, the sharpening of a single stone tool in a camp by knocking off some flakes may be disturbed by other members of the camp. Most data consists of broader patterns resulting from many similar events at the same location. Many women may have gone out and foraged for plant foods every day for several weeks, and returned with them to the camp. The accumulation of plant food remains forms a broad pattern of economic choices that illustrate to the archaeologist which foods were important at this camp during the season of occupation.