Introduction

to
Archaeology

Lecture 01
What is Archaeology?
Photo Source: World
Archaeology Journal, Issue
39
● Archaeology is the study of the ancient and recent
human past investigated through material remains.

• These remains can be any objects that people created,

modified, or used.

● Archaeology analyzes the physical remains of the past in

pursuit of a broad and comprehensive understanding of
human culture.
 Why Study Archaeology?
Why and how the study of the past has relevance for today?
● In order to understand the present world and to impact the future, one
must acquaint themselves with the past.

● Archaeology transcends the limitations of written records and can

reveal detailed stories when no document exists.

● “One of Archaeology’s greatest strengths lies in its ability to give voice

to those who are left out in many other fields of study” - (The
Excluded Past, Stone and Mackenzie, 1990).
 Types of Archaeology

● Prehistoric Archaeology
● Historical Archaeology
● Classical Archaeology
● Underwater Archaeology
 Prehistoric Archaeology
● Prehistoric archaeology is the study of
the human past before historical
records began.
○ Note: Human cultures flourished
and created complex political,
economic and ideological
structures without a writing
system.
● Study of human hunter and gatherer
groups prior to sedentary (permanent)
settlements.
● Roughly dates from 2.5 million years Pre-Columbian Smile, Photograph By Richard Hewitt
Stewart, National Geographic Magazine.
ago to 1,200 B.C.
PRE-HISTORY
It is defined as the period between the use of first stone tools and the
invention of the first writing systems.

How were languages spoken by our ancestors in prehistory? Because prehistory is

the time before written records, we have no recordings or books from that period.
Some of the oldest forms of human communication include talking or making
sounds, drawing or painting, dancing, acting, and using symbols. They would tell
their stories of battles, hunts and culture.
Tell Yunatsite, Bulgaria Mehrgargh, Kacchi plain of
Excavation begin in 1939, by Bulgarian archeologist Balochistan in Pakistan
Vasil Milkov
Excavation begin in 1974, by archeologist
Jean Franois and his wife Catherine Jarrige
 Historical Archaeology

● Historical archaeology is the archaeology of societies that left behind

historical records.
● Historical archaeologists certainly make use of written records, but not all
research that involves written records is classified as “historical archaeology.”
● “Historical archaeology” most commonly refers to a narrower aspect of
archaeology, namely the archaeology of the modern period with a focus on
colonial and post-colonial contexts influenced by European Imperialism.
 Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan
(Unesco World Heritage site)
Excavations begin in 1920's by archeologist RD Bangerji
of India
City of pompeii, near Naples in
the Campania region of Italy
(Unesco World Heritage site)
Excavated in 1960
 Classical Archaeology
● Study of the material remains of ancient
Greek and Roman cultures, as well as of
their predecessors, the influence of
these cultures on future civilisation, and
of the other cultures that surrounded
them.

● The bandwidth of material remains

ranges from articles used in everyday
life to structures in the settlements to The Colosseum, Photograph Source:
artefacts and drawings. St.John's College Archives, Oxford.
Acropolis in Athens Frere hall in Central Karachi,
Excavated in 1896 by French excavator Henry colonial era Saddar town
Graillot
Completed in 1865
 Underwater Archeology

● Branch of archaeology that deals

with the recovery of ancient objects
found beneath the sea, as
shipwrecks or remains from
submerged islands, and with the
techniques of underwater
exploration, excavation, and
retrieval.
Due to seismic events or climate
changes means that some sites of
human occupation that were once on
land are now submerged Maya Skull, Photograph By Paul
underwater. Nicklen, Nat Geo Image Collection.
PAVLOPETRI (the city beneath the waves)

Discovered by Nicholas Flemming in 1967

(Unesco World Heritage Site)
Understanding Culture and
Society
 What is Culture?

● A culture is a way of life of a group of people - the behaviors, beliefs, values,

and symbols that they accept, generally without questioning, and that are
passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the
next.
● Culture is our link to the past and our guide to the future. (Soyinka, 91’)
● Material Culture: Physical things created by members of a society.
● Non-Material Culture: Ideas created by members of a society.
 What is Society?

● A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or

a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically
subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
Archaeological Sites in the
Subcontinent