what are archaeological sources

Archaeological sources are physical remains or ruins of things used or constructed structures in the past that can provide information about the time period in which they were found. These sources can be obtained through excavation, which is the scientific process of digging the earth to obtain ancient remains or fossils of our ancestors. Archaeological sources can include artifacts, architecture of buildings, coins, inscriptions, monuments, pieces of pots, and other artifacts. Archaeological sources are particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which there are no written records. The physical remains can reveal several types of information usually not accessible to survey, such as stratigraphy, three-dimensional structure, and verifiably primary context. Archaeological sources have enhanced our knowledge about our past and also provided important materials that could not have been obtained otherwise.