General
The study of how people lived in the past by analyzing artifacts and other physical remains to reconstruct a detailed history of human life.
What is Archaeology?
The name of an ancient city that was preserved under volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
What is Pompeii?
The tool that archaeologist use to excavate.
What is a trowel?
Controlled, modern experiments with ancient technologies and material cultures that serve as a basis for interpreting the past.
What is Experimental Archaeology?
Manages and displays artifacts in museums and other public institutions.
What is a Museum Curator?
Anything portable made or modified by humans.
What is an Artifact?
This small island in the Pacific Ocean is famous for its giant stone statues and was first settled by Polynesians around the year 400 to 1200.
What is Easter Island?
The process to separate soil from micro artifacts.
What is sifting/screening?
The study of ancient disease and trauma.
What is Paleopathology?
Conducts research, teaches classes, and writes about archaeology. They are usually employed by universities and research institutions.
What is an Academic Archaeologist or Professor?
Fixed remains of human activity at an archaeological site. Also known as artifacts that cannot be moved.
What is a Feature?
This iconic archaeological site has speculations on its purpose, located in England it draws over a million visitors each year.
The tool archaeologists used to stay on their transect line and also used to tell cardinal direction.
What is a compass?
The study of animal remains from archaeological sites.
What is Zooarchaeology?
Works on archaeological sites, excavating, collecting artifacts, drawing maps, taking photographs, and recording information about their finds.
What is a Field Technician?
Items that were not made or modified by humans but still provide information about past life ways. Ex: animal bones, plant seed, pollen, fire cracked rock.
What is an Ecofact?
This archaeological site in Peru, often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas," was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.
What is Machu Picchu?
This technique is used in the lab to determine the age of organic materials.
What is radiocarbon dating?
The study of living societies to aid in understanding and interpreting the archaeological record.
What is Ethnoarchaeology?
Manages archaeological sites and artifacts, and works with government agencies, private companies, and other organizations to ensure their preservation.
What is a Cultural Resources Manager?
Comparing unknown artifacts and sites to known artifacts and sites to determine their age.
What is Relative Dating?
The ruins of this ancient city, is known for its rock-cut architecture, is in Jordan and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What is Petra?
This remote sensing technology uses laser light to create detailed topographical maps of archaeological sites, revealing structures hidden under vegetation, it has recently rediscovered Mayan sites.
What is Lidar?
The recovery and identification of plant remains from ancient contexts, with a focus on the world of plant-people interaction.
What is Paleoethnobotany?
Preserves artifacts and objects in museum collections.
What is a Conservator?