Hi everyone!
This is my first blog post and I am really excited to be writing to all of you about something I am so passionate about: HISTORY!
I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Kiri and I am an archaeologist in training. What does that mean? I don’t really know, but it sounds really adult and exciting; doesn't it?!? My Grandpa T always says that about me, that I am an archaeologist in training. You see, my Grandpa T is an archaeologist. He travels all over the world consulting on archaeological sites and visiting exciting historical places. When he comes to visit, we sit for hours as he tells me all about his latest adventures. We read history books together, and visit local museums. And whenever Grandpa T introduces me to people it is: ‘This is my granddaughter Kiri, the archaeologist in training.’
Then IT comes, the comment. The comment I get so often, that I am now surprised when it does not come. ‘Oh, my child loves dinosaurs too!’
I used to get really frustrated with people when they would say that, but then I a documentary on dinosaurs and someone called the scientists archaeologists. I realize now that not everyone knows what archaeology is, and that is okay. Rather then getting frustrated, I can tell people and talk about my love of history with them.
​
That is why I decided to name my first blog post: What is Archaeology? As Aiden always tells me: “If we are going to do this, lets start from the beginning.”
​
_______________
​
Let’s start simply: What is the definition of archaeology.
Well simply put archaeology is the study of past cultures using the stuff they left behind.
​
Stuff is a big word. Not like it’s a complicated word, but it is a word what means a lot of different things. But that is because archaeologist study a lot of different things. You can study: pottery, jewelry, buildings, bones (human and animal), weapons, graves, toys, fire pits, burn marks, post holes, books, writing instruments, clothing, bottles, walls, ships, statues, wiring, carvings, coprolite (click on coloured words to find out what they mean), art, glass, nails, horseshoes, and on and on and on and on. Anything that was made or changed by human hands, archaeologist study to learn about the people that made or changed those things.
​
One thing we don’t do is study dinosaurs. Archaeology studies humans. The study of dinosaurs and other past life from fossils in called paleontology. I am not saying that dinosaurs are not interesting, I love the dinosaur exhibits at the Natural History Museum, it is just not what archaeologist study.
​
So, if archaeologist study so much stuff, then there must be many different types of archaeology? Yes there is, and I will explain some of them.
_______________
​
There are many types of archaeology you can specialize in; but really they all come down to three divisions. First you can specialize in a location. Then you can specialize based on a time period. And finally, you can specialize based on the nature of the work. The interesting things is you can specialize in only one one of these areas, or in a combination of these areas, or in one from each of these area.
​
Based on Location: Everyone knows Egyptologists; they are archaeologist who specialize in Egypt. You could specialize in Peru, or Alberta, or the Everglades, or Scotland. You can specialize in any place in the world you want.
​
Based on Time Periods: That one is not complicated. What time period do you want to specialize in? You can be very specific, but there are some broad time periods that archaeolgists deal with. Those are…
-
Prehistoric: which means a period of history before the invention of writing
-
Historic: which means a period of history after the invention of writing, and when writing was use a lot
-
Protohistoric: which is a weird time between prehistoric and historical. Writing was invented, but not a lot of people could write, or it is a type of writing that we can’t read anymore.
-
Modern: modern does not just mean today, in archaeology it means archaeology that deals sites that are more like today. These can include Industrial,
Specific places might have their own types of historical time periods too, that only relate to them. Like the Classical time period is only for Rome and Greece, and any place covered by their empires. Medieval archaeology is not really something you study when you study America. I mean you can study America between the date of 600 and 1500, but we don’t call it Medieval archaeology.
​
Based on the Nature of the Work: You can specialize in types of archaeology that are based on how the work is done. This means you can study any time period or location, but you study it in a certain way. When I was reading about this there were so many examples, the list just went on and on and on, so I am not going to writ out the entire list, just some examples.
-
Underwater archaeology: It is also called Marine or Maritime archaeology. It means you study stuff that is underwater. Because water changes how you have to dig, how you have to preserve the artifacts, and the types of sites you can find, you have to dig a very specific way.
-
Zooarchaeology: It is also called archaeozoology or faunal analysis. Archaezoology now that is a big word. They study animal bones, or shells. Zooarchaeology is really interesting because you can learn what kinds of animal people were eating, or even what animals they were keeping as pets.
-
Aerial archaeology: This is archaeology that is done from the air or even outer-space. No, we are not digging Martian villages (no matter how much Mika wishes we were). Arielarchaeology is about looking at sites or trying to find sites by looking from above. You can fly a drone or a plane and see sites or you can look at pictures taken from a satellite that is orbiting the earth. One of the most famous sites that can really be understood best with aerial archaeology is the Nazca Lines.
-
Rescue archaeology: This one was not what I expected from the name. I thought it was going to a site and restoring it to how it was before; you know, rescuing it. But no. Rescue archaeology is about going to a site and collecting as much information as you can before the site is destroyed. Sites can be destroyed because of construction, or flooding, or because the soil and plants around it are naturally changing. So, rescue archaeology is not about rescuing the site, it is about rescuing the archaeological information of the site.
What is neat about the types of archaeology is that you don’t have to specialize is just one, you can combine them. You could be an Egyptologist that specializes in the faunal analysis of Bronze age sites; or you could be Underwater archaeologist that specializes in Basque whaling ships in Canada.
What do I want to specialize in? I have no idea; it all looks so interesting. I guess I will have to try it all before I decide.
_______________
​
Well that was a lot of information. I hope you found it as interesting as I did, and that you are looking forward to joining me again as I explore my passion of history and archaeology.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you again.
​
Cheers!
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Sources
​
Arie, Benjamin. What are the Different Types of Arhcaoelogy? WiseGeek.com. 2020
<https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-archaeology.htm>
Bahn, Paul, and Colin Renfrew. Archaeology Theories Methods and Practice (Third Edition). Thames & Hudson, London. 2000.
Cambridge Dictionary. Archaeology. Cambridge University Press. Pulled in 2020.
<https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/archaeology>
Oxford Lerner’s Dictionaries. Archaeology. Oxford University Press. Pulled in 2020
<https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/archaeology>
ScienceStruck. A Quick Guide to the Different Types of Archaeology. Buzzle.com. Pulled in 2020.
<https://sciencestruck.com/different-types-of-archaeology>
​