Archaeology

• What is archaeology?

  the story of the past from remains
• What is an Artefact?

  objects made by people
• Prehistory: the history of people before writing was invented
• Conservation: protection and preservation of ancient objects so that they do not decay
• How evidence is preserved:

  •tombs

  • deserts

  • peat bogs

  • volcanoes
• How evidence is destroyed:

  • building roads

  • storms

  • battles

  • war

  • volcanoes
• Dating the evidence:

  • stratigraphy

  • coins

  • pottery

  • carbon dating
• Stratigraphy: layers of soil, sediment or rock are laid down one on top of another over time
• Carbon Dating: method used to determine how long ago something died based on the amount of radioactive carbon it contains.