1
Core meaning
The study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
Example
Archaeology revealed several phases of occupation at the site.
archaeology
/ˌɑːkiˈɒlədʒi/ · ar-kee-OL-uh-jeenoun
The study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
Use archaeology to express this relationship precisely: the study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
What archaeology Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
The team used pottery and foundations to reconstruct the settlement's history.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
Modern archaeology studies recent industry as well as ancient societies.
Use archaeology Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Archaeology revealed several phases of occupation at the site.
The team used pottery and foundations to reconstruct the settlement's history.
Modern archaeology studies recent industry as well as ancient societies.
Precision Matters
Archaeology overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
archaeology
vs.Means the study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
anthropology
Means the systematic study of human societies, cultures, behaviour, biology, and development.
archaeology
vs.Means the study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
retrospective
Means looking back on, reviewing, or using information about past events.
archaeology
vs.Means the study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
cultivation
Means the preparation and care of land or organisms for growth; also, the deliberate development of a skill, quality, or relationship.
archaeology
vs.Means the study of past human life and cultures through material remains such as artefacts, buildings, and landscapes.
spatial
Means relating to physical space, position, distance, direction, size, or the arrangement of objects.
Test archaeology in Context
The field investigates past human life through material remains.
1
The excavation of tools, hearths, and building foundations supplied new evidence for ___.