| + | '''Archaeology''', or archeology (from [[Greek]] ἀρχαιολογία, archaiologia – ἀρχαῖος, arkhaios, "[[ancient]]"; and -λογία, -logia, "-logy"), is the study of human activity, primarily through the recovery and [[analysis]] of the material [[culture]] and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes [[artifacts]], [[architecture]], biofacts and cultural landscapes (the archaeological record). Because archaeology employs a wide range of different procedures, it can be considered to be both a science and a humanity, and in the United States it is thought of as a branch of [[anthropology]], although in Europe it is viewed as a separate [[discipline]]. |
− | '''Archaeology''', or archeology (from [[Greek]] ἀρχαιολογία, archaiologia – ἀρχαῖος, arkhaios, "[[ancient]]"; and -λογία, -logia, "-logy"), is the study of human activity, primarily through the recovery and [[analysis]] of the material [[culture]] and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes [[artifacts]], [[architecture]], biofacts and cultural landscapes (the archaeological record). Because archaeology employs a wide range of different procedures, it can be considered to be both a science and a humanity, and in the United States it is thought of as a branch of [[anthropology]], although in Europe it is viewed as a separate [[discipline]].
| + | Archaeology studies human [[history]] from the development of the first stone [[tools]] in eastern Africa 3.4 million years ago up until recent decades. (Archaeology does not include the discipline of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleontology paleontology].) It is of most importance for learning about prehistoric societies, when there are no written records for historians to study, making up over 99% of total human history, from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeolithic Palaeolithic] until the advent of literacy in any given society. Archaeology has various [[goals]], which range from studying human [[evolution]] to cultural evolution and understanding culture [[history]]. |
| The [[discipline]] involves surveyance, excavation and eventually [[analysis]] of data collected to learn more about the [[past]]. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary [[research]]. It draws upon anthropology, history, art history, [[classics]], ethnology, [[geography]], [[geology]], [[linguistics]], semiology, [[physics]], [[information science]]s, [[chemistry]], statistics, paleoecology, paleontology, paleozoology, paleoethnobotany, and paleobotany. | | The [[discipline]] involves surveyance, excavation and eventually [[analysis]] of data collected to learn more about the [[past]]. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary [[research]]. It draws upon anthropology, history, art history, [[classics]], ethnology, [[geography]], [[geology]], [[linguistics]], semiology, [[physics]], [[information science]]s, [[chemistry]], statistics, paleoecology, paleontology, paleozoology, paleoethnobotany, and paleobotany. |