Quiz

Archaeological Site: A Summary

• An archaeological site is a place where evidence of past activity is preserved.
• The site can be prehistoric or historic, and it represents a part of the archaeological record.
• The definition and geographical extent of a site can vary widely depending on the period studied and the theoretical approach of the archaeologist.
• It is difficult to delimit a site, and it can indicate a settlement of some sort.
• Surveys are one way to find sites, and it involves walking around analyzing the land looking for artifacts.
• Field surveys can also involve digging, and archaeologists sample randomly within a given area of land as another form of conducting surveys.
• Geophysics is a branch of survey becoming more and more popular in archaeology, which uses different types of instruments to investigate features below the ground surface.
• Archaeologists make maps by taking data from surveys or archival research and plugging it into a Geographical Information System (GIS).
• Traditionally, sites are distinguished by the presence of both artifacts and features.
• Different archaeologists may see an ancient town and its nearby cemetery as being two different sites or part of the same wider site.
• Cultural remnants which have been buried by sediments are in many environments more likely to be preserved than exposed cultural remnants.
• Many sites are the subject of ongoing excavation or investigation.