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History vocabulary · Archaeology Basics

Archaeology

Meaning in history, with examples

/ˌɑːkiˈɒlədʒi/nounCore term

In history, archaeology means: The study of the human past through the material remains people left behind, such as buildings, tools, pottery, bones and traces in the soil.

In Turkish: arkeoloji

How it is used

Archaeologists survey, excavate, record and date sites and finds. Branches include prehistoric, classical, underwater and urban archaeology. The adjective is archaeological: archaeological evidence, an archaeological site.

Example sentences

  1. Archaeology can tell us about people who left no written records.

  2. She studied archaeology in Ankara and now works on Hittite sites.

Common collocations

  • archaeological evidence
  • underwater archaeology
  • classical archaeology
  • study archaeology
  • excavationThe careful digging and recording of an archaeological site to uncover buildings, objects and other remains in the order in which they were buried.
  • artifactAn object made or shaped by people, such as a tool, coin, weapon or piece of jewellery, especially one studied for what it reveals about the past.
  • archaeological siteA place where evidence of past human activity has been found or preserved, such as the remains of a settlement, cemetery, temple or workshop.
  • stratigraphyThe study of the layers of soil and debris at a site, based on the principle that lower layers were usually laid down before the ones above them.
  • prehistoryThe long period of human history before writing was invented, known mainly through archaeology, fossils and other physical remains.

More terms: Archaeology Basics

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