Goals of Archaeology
Archaeology involves the scientific study of past human cultures. Archaeologists study the reconstruction of extinct cultures using remains of past human behavior or other things that people made and used in the past. Archeology involves the collection of material remains, usually regarded as artifacts, to examine and date past cultural processes. The study of archaeology achieves various goals that help individuals understand the evolution of world cultures.
One of the fundamental goals of archaeology is to reconstruct the accounts of past human events as they were played out throughout time. Archaeology considers various past events, dates them, and develops a chronological sequence. Therefore, it provides a detailed report of where and when certain cultural events took place (Lewis, Jurmain, and Kilgore 181). Providing a detailed chronological account of past human cultures is the most important aspect of archaeology because it helps answer important questions about the human past. People get to determine when certain tools were invented in human history, how they were used, and how they have continued to evolve to date. Thus, archaeology provides a link between the similarities and the differences in world cultures and the relationships between people of different cultures.
Archaeology also seeks to reconstruct past life-ways and cultural processes of human life. Archaeologists gather information from discovered artifacts to try to understand how people used certain items to interact with each other and with their surroundings. For instance, archaeologists can determine how people were treated in death and the significance of rituals performed for the dead. Prehistoric humans left no written records on their cultural processes and life-ways; the tools discovered are interpreted to provide evidence of the existence of such humans (Little 21). Additionally, archaeologists use collected artifacts to determine how people created and used specific tools; for instance, how huts and shelters looked like and how they were constructed in different cultural settings throughout time. Therefore, discovered artifacts play an important role in dating past cultural activities in archaeological study.
Additionally, archaeology tries to explain how and why things that happened in the past occurred the way they did (Lewis, Jurmain, and Kilgore 181). For instance, archaeologists can collect data to explain how major climatic shifts changed the environment in a particular region, making life unbearable, thus leading to the extinction of people and their culture. As a result, archaeologists can answer difficult questions regarding certain cultural people and their practices.
Interpreting the cognitive and symbolic aspects of past cultures is another major goal of archaeology. Archaeologists seek to provide a general explanation of the patterns in past human culture in terms of how they advanced over time. Identifying how humans evolved in terms of dressing, interacting, and advancements in the tools they used may provide information on their cognitive developments through time and space (Little 22). Therefore, the study of significant shifts in past cultural practices throughout time guides archaeologists in determining the evolution of people during that time, including their intellectual advancements.
Archaeology is essential in providing a detailed account of the past human culture. It helps in the study of past cultures, including providing a detailed account of events that happened in the past and recreating past ways of human life and cultural processes. Additionally, archaeology explains events that happened in the past while trying to interpret the cognitive aspects of past cultural aspects. The study of archaeology is thus important in helping people to understand where they came from and how they have evolved throughout time.
Works Cited
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Lewis, R B, Robert Jurmain, and Lynn Kilgore. Understanding Humans: Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010.
Little, Barbara J. Historical archaeology: why the past matters. Routledge, 2016.
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