Archaeology power point year 7

1. Archaeology
Digging Up the Past

2. A misconception…
Less of this…
More of this…

3. What is Archaeology?
• Study of ancient sites and objects to learn
about the past
– geographical areas and landscapes
– types of human-made object, such as pottery,
coins, or writing materials
– types of human buildings and earthworks
– organic materials, such as human remains, wood,
pollen, or poos

4. What is an Artefact?
• A portable object made by a human being

5. What does an Archaeologist do?
• Identify sites for study
• The “Dig” - an excavation
to uncover the past
• Preserve artefacts
• Record, analyse, interpret,
and publish
archaeological remains

6. Tools used by Archaeologists
• Trowel
• Brush
• Measure
• Line
• Spade
• Dental tools
• Spirit level
• Modern technology – Radar, geo-physics, aerial
photography

7. Famous Archaeologists
• Howard Carter – Tomb of Tutankhamen
• Gertrude Caton-Thompson – Great Zimbabwe
• Heinrich Schliemann - Troy

8. Famous Archaeological Sites
• Stone Henge
• Pyramids
• Inca Cities – Machu Picchu
• Pompeii
• Lake Mungo

9. How do Archaeologists find out how
old something is?
• Absolute dating (more later on this)
• Two methods of relative dating
– Typology
– Stratigraphy

10. Typology – examples

11. Typology is used for all sorts of objects

12. Stratigraphy- lower layers are older