Archaeology 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. Archaeology can be considered both a
social science and a branch of the
humanities. It is usually considered an independent
academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of
anthropology (in North America – the
four-field approach),
history or
geography.
Archaeologists study human
prehistory and history, from the development of the first
stone tools at
Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades.
[5] Archaeology is distinct from
palaeontology, which is the study of
fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the
Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies around the world.
Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding
culture history to reconstructing past
lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time.
[6] Derived from Greek, the term
archaeology means "the study of ancient history".The discipline involves
surveying,
