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Excavations at Atapuerca, an archaeological site in Spain. Archaeology or archeology [a] is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes.
Archaeological science consists of the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archaeological materials and sites. It is related to methodologies of archaeology. Martinón-Torres and Killick distinguish ‘scientific archaeology’ (as an epistemology) from ‘archaeological science’ (the application of specific techniques to ...
A Geographical Information System (GIS) is used within digital archaeology to document, survey and analyse the spatial data of archaeological sites. The use of a GIS within the study of archaeology involves in-field analysis and collection of archaeological and environmental data, predominantly through aerial photography, spatial cognition, digital maps [1] and satellite imaging. [6]
Computational archaeology is a subfield of digital archeology that focuses on the analysis and interpretation of archaeological data using advanced computational techniques. This field employs data modeling , statistical analysis , and computer simulations to understand and reconstruct past human behaviors and societal developments.
Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing various tasks or feats.
Archaeological subfields are typically characterised by a focus on a specific method, type of material, geographical, chronological, or other thematic categories. Among academic disciplines, archaeology, in particular, often can be found in cross-disciplinary research due to the inherent multidisciplinary and geographical nature of the field in general.
In archaeology, lithic analysis is the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts using basic scientific techniques. At its most basic level, lithic analyses involve an analysis of the artifact's morphology, the measurement of various physical attributes, and examining other visible features (such as noting the presence or absence of cortex, for example).
It is naturally much easier to discuss societies rather than individuals as these past people are completely anonymous in the archaeological record. Such a lack of concrete information means that prehistoric archaeology is a contentious field and the arguments that range over it have done much to inform archaeological theory. [4]