The archeology is the science that studies ancient societies from their material remains. Through the analysis of objects and those works built by ancient peoples, this science can reach conclusions about their culture and ways of life.
People who are dedicated to studying the past framed in this science are known as archaeologists. Their job is to rebuild the life of ancient populations from the material manifestations they have left. Thanks to various techniques developed over time, archaeologists can “read” objects and learn through them various aspects of human behavior in the past. The study methodology helps them locate the various objects found in a certain time and space, in order to analyze them within a particular context.
Although traditional archeology focuses on Prehistory and the Ancient Era, in recent decades the archaeological technique has been applied to more recent periods, such as the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. There is also another branch of archeology that aims to study closer times; It is known as industrial archeology and its analysis focuses on the inspection of urban waste.
According to DigoPaul, the most important branches of archeology are:
* Ethnoarcheology (is dedicated to studying a living society based on its production of material artistic works)
* Contextual archeology (focuses its study on the associations that may exist between various objects and the way in which each influenced the life of society)
* Cognitive archeology (studies the forms of thought and the symbolism of peoples of the past from the material remains found)
* Experimental archeology (bases its study on the reconstruction of materials from the means used in ancient times, in order to come to understand its operation and the limitations they presented)
* Archeology of the landscape(An attempt is made to understand what the environment was like in which the people to study lived and the way in which they interacted with it)
* Archeometry (through physical-chemical techniques that are applied to the object of study can be established in-depth analysis of their construction, the characteristics of their materials and the way in which they were manipulated)
* Holistic archeology (analyzes the abstract and intellectual aspects of a society in order to fully understand it. Through political notions , art, ecology, etc. that distinguished this human group, you can fully understand the way they lived and understand the priorities of each group.)
There are various terms related to archeology, some of them are:
* Prospection archaeological: is exploring a territory for material remains of a society.
* Archaeological site: they are those places where remains of a settlement have been found and the perimeter is delimited for study. The deposits are usually hidden underground, especially if the culture being studied is very old.
* Archaeological excavation: It is an activity that must be carried out with great delicacy since it can only be carried out once in each geographical area. Each excavation of this type must be authorized and supported by a competent institution. Those responsible for carrying it out are usually specialized people, capable of identifying the valuable objects of which they are not and of establishing connections between the remains and the culture that has left them.
* Work Laboratory: is the analysis of the remains obtained. Once the archaeological excavation has been successfully carried out, the objects are transferred to a ship where, using a series of technological tools, scientists can analyze them and draw conclusions about their provenance.
