what is archeology

Archaeology is the study of the ancient and recent human past through material remains. It involves the recovery and analysis of material culture, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeologists study the human past using material remains, which can be any objects that people created, modified, or used. These remains can be portable, such as tools, clothing, and decorations, or non-portable, such as pyramids or post-holes, which are called features. Archaeology is a diverse field of study, and most archaeologists focus on a particular region of the world or a specific topic of study. Some archaeologists specialize in technologies that find, map, or analyze archaeological sites, while others study human remains (bioarchaeology), animals (zooarchaeology), ancient plants (paleoethnobotany), stone tools (lithics), etc. . Underwater archaeologists study the remains of human activity that lie beneath the surface of water or on coasts. Archaeology is based on the scientific method, and archaeologists ask questions, develop hypotheses, use evidence to choose a dig site, then use scientific sampling techniques to select where on the site to dig, observe, record, categorize, and interpret what they find, and then share their results with others. Archaeometry is a field of research that frequently focuses on the definition of the chemical composition of archaeological remains for source analysis. Pseudoarchaeology is an umbrella term for all activities that falsely claim to be archaeological but in fact violate commonly accepted and scientific archaeological practices.