archaeology

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Exploring the world's oldest known gold mine

Experience the archaeological excavations of the Undo Cave, a paleolithic site in Georgia

Learn about the archaeological excavations of a 19th-century prison site on Spike Island, with a focus on the daily lives of ordinary convicts

Diving into the mystery of a 2,000-year-old shipwreck

Uncovering Christian graves from the Middle Ages

For Students

archaeology summary

Read Next

The Rosetta Stone, with Egyptian hieroglyphics in the top section, demotic characters in the middle, and Greek at the bottom; in the British Museum.

What Does the Rosetta Stone Say?

Measuring the Reign of Homo naledi

Discover

Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution

The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding

7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers

Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)

All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.

26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History

Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator

The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates

History & Society

archaeology

Also known as: archeology

Written by Glyn Edmund Daniel

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 11, 2024 • Article History

Pachacamac, Peru

See all media

Category: History & Society

Also spelled:: archeology

Key People:: Heinrich Schliemann; Sir Flinders Petrie; Johann Winckelmann; Zahi Hawass; Richard Leakey

Related Topics:: dating; excavation; Egyptology; antiquities; prehistoric archaeology

See all related content →

archaeology, the scientific study of the material remains of past human life and activities. These include human artifacts from the very earliest stone tools to the man-made objects that are buried or thrown away in the present day: everything made by human beings—from simple tools to complex machines, from the earliest houses and temples and tombs to palaces, cathedrals, and pyramids. Archaeological investigations are a principal source of knowledge of prehistoric, ancient, and extinct culture. The word comes from the Greek archaia (“ancient things”) and logos (“theory” or “science”). The archaeologist is first a descriptive worker: he has to describe, ...(100 of 5719 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.