Archaeology: what is it and what does this discipline study?

We all have archaeological excavations in mind, as they are the basis of the plot of numerous novels, movies and even comics. The objects found in these excavations have always excited the popular imagination. From mummies in Egypt to medieval codices; everything is capable of originating a wonderful horror or science fiction story.

But, fantasy aside, Do we know exactly what archeology is, and what it consists of? When did it originate? On what do you base your studies? In this article we briefly review what it is and what are the characteristics of this discipline.

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What is archaeology?

archeology is the science that studies past societies through the remains that have been preserved from them. These remains can be architectural ruins, paintings, religious elements and other objects, as well as human remains. The nomenclature of this science is made up of the Greek words “archaios” (ancient, old) and “logos” (knowledge). In one word; archeology tries to recover the societies of the past in order to better understand both these ancient communities and our own present.

To this end, archeology borrows techniques and procedures from other sciences, such as history, geography, or biology. It is important to know the historical evolution of a place to contextualize a finding, but knowledge of genetics or traumatology may also be relevant; For example, to determine if the human remains found are male or female, we must carry out an analysis of the extracted DNA, and if we want to know the cause of death, we will have to be attentive to any bone fracture that could indicate an accident or a murder.

It's important pointing that, For a site to be considered archaeological, it must contain human remains, both biological and those of the producers created by that society.. A site that contains only animal bones, for example, will not be considered archaeological, and will depend on other disciplines, such as paleontology.

Origins of archeology

The fever to discover the past increased exponentially during the 19th century. This is how the excavations that sought to bring to light the remains of ancient civilizations were born, not always through the most orthodox methods. In the midst of the fever for collecting antiquities, the trafficking of heritage assets and archaeological looting proliferated.

For example, Heinrich Schliemann, considered by some to be one of the first modern archaeologists, destroyed during his excavations many archaeological strata, a disaster that led to the irremediable loss of valuable information historical. Schliemann himself illegally removed from the territory of the then Ottoman Empire several pieces that he had found, looting that earned him a reprimand and the payment of a fine.

Unfortunately, the 19th century is full of characters who, like him, dedicated themselves to extracting goods illegally. Egypt in particular was the victim of a veritable “archaeological massacre”. The famous case of the bust of Queen Nefertiti, taken out of the country by its discoverer, Ludwig Borchardt, has caused rivers of ink to flow. It seems that Borchardt did not correctly inventory the bust of the queen, perhaps to make the Egyptian authorities believe that it was not that valuable. The fact is that the bust left Egypt more or less secretly, and is currently the object of insistent claims by the Egyptian government.

Fortunately, today the picture is very different. The archaeological discipline currently enjoys a protocol in the process of excavation, extraction, inventory and research, and heritage assets are subject to protection laws by different states and the international community.

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The work of the archaeologist

When we think of archaeology, a dig site packed with workers and scientists, extracting objects and constantly inventing them, comes to mind. However, that is only a part of the work, the so-called “field work”. There are other areas to which the archaeologist can dedicate himself, among which are teaching and research. If we focus on the field work, we find three main stages:

• The first, the exploration of the territories likely to harbor archaeological remains. At this point, it is necessary to delimit the terrain on which the work will be carried out.
• The second, the process of excavation and extraction of the elements of the site.
• The third part is carried out in the laboratory, where the extracted pieces are washed, analyzed and meticulously catalogued, in order to have a complete record of the deposit.

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Archeology Specializations

Archeology as a discipline has been subdivided in recent decades. As a result, we have several branches that depend on this main science and that, of course, share methods and study tools. Let's see the most important ones.

1. ethnoarchaeology

is in charge of studying the material remains of pre-industrial cultures still extant, for example, a tribe in present-day Africa, to try to better understand the societies of the past. At the same time, the archaeological techniques used by ethnoarchaeology also allow us to understand these current societies.

2. cognitive archeology

He specializes in the study of the thought of our ancestors through their material remains; that is, how behavior has developed in the gender Homo. It was Colin Renfrew who, at the University of Cambridge, announced the birth of this archaeological discipline, which focused his study on the “why” rather than the “what”. In other words, what had led our ancestors to produce some objects and not others.

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3. contextual archeology

This typology places special emphasis on context and uses contextual methods of analysis. It starts from the idea that communities of the past were related from various perspectives: socially, economically and spatially.. Contextual archeology is therefore very aware that each found remains is a manifestation of a specific and unique context.

4. experimental archeology

He tries to decipher, for example, how a monument was built or what the exact function of a found tool was. For this, experimental archeology artificially reconstructs the situation and analyzes the results obtained. One of the best examples is the experiment being carried out at Overton Down in England, where a hill has been built, imitating the one that kept the town of Çatal Huyuk hidden, in Türkiye. Objects made of different materials were buried in this artificial hill, in order to observe their conservation over the years.

5. architecture archeology

Also known as “architectural archeology” or “mural”, it is the specialization that deals with the study of architectural materials. The term was coined in 1990 by the archaeologist Tiziano Mannoni (1928-2010). Through the constructive remains, it is intended to know the society that has produced them; For this, tools such as the stratigraphic method are used, which is responsible for analyzing the different strata of the archaeological site.

Through this discipline, the reforms that the various buildings have undergone and at what time they were modified are known.

6. public archeology

It is the most recent of the disciplines derived from archaeology, since it is currently still in the process of being defined. Public archeology is basically the relationship established between society and archeology. The term was first used by Charles McGimsey in 1972, in his book Public Archeology, and focused on the interaction of indigenous communities with society. However, the field of study of public archeology is much broader, as it also focuses on the illegal trade in heritage goods, the historical memory and its influence on politics, the image that society has of archaeology, the direct participation of the public in the excavations, etc

Some archaeological discoveries that have gone down in history

There are many findings that have achieved a place of honor in the history of archaeology. Let's see some of them.

1. The ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum

They were discovered in 1738, which makes this site an one of the first discoveries of archeology. In fact, it was discovered when this discipline was not even conceived, so the excavations were carried out almost blindly and without any established scientific method. His fame went around the world, and caused a real fever for the classic.

2. The Rosetta Stone and the beginning of Egyptology

Discovered during the Napoleonic campaigns in Egypt, it is thanks to this stele that we can understand the language spoken by the ancient inhabitants of the Nile. Jean-François Champollion, a 32-year-old historian, managed to decipher, after hard work, the Egyptian characters that appeared on the stone. The year was 1822 and the discovery laid the foundations of Egyptology.

3. Heinrich Schliemann and the mythical Troy

Doubts still exist today as to whether the strata of the city discovered in Turkey by the Prussian Heinrich Schliemann correspond to the Ilium sung by homer. His discoverer was convinced of this, although his conviction could have been influenced by the almost obsessive passion he felt for ancient Greece. In any case, the method used by Schliemann was unorthodox; During the excavation process, which they say included dynamite, important archaeological strata were irreversibly lost.

4. Howard Carter and the tomb of Tutankhamen

In November 1922 this British archaeologist he discovered tomb KV62 in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt, and identified it with the lost burial of Tutankhamen. The find was exceptional, as it was the only Egyptian tomb that had not been robbed and still had all its magnificent grave goods, which included the famous mask of the child-king. The discovery became even more famous when rumors spread of a supposed curse, based on the fact that many of the participants in the discovery died in a short period of time. Interestingly, Howard Carter took several decades to die.

5. Lascaux caves

In the 1940s, some beautiful samples of rock art were discovered in caves in the French Dordogne. The finding marked a milestone in the investigation of the culture of the European Paleolithic communities and the understanding of their artistic manifestations.