HOW ARCHEOLOGISTS FIND AND STUDY ARTIFACTS?

One of the richest sources of clues to the prehistoric way of life is an archeological "dig", a site where ancient objects are deeply buried. Archeologists base their choice of the site for a dig on clues such as the shape of the ground surface and stories or traditions that indicate people once occupied the site. Sometimes a dig is made where artifacts have been found by accident. A farmer plowing a field may turn up stone arrowheads, or a bulldozer operator may uncover the foundations of an accident building. 

Even before starting to dig, or excavate, archeologists make a map of the site. The map is blocked off in numbered squares so that workers can later identify exactly where an artifact was found. Next, the soil is carefully removed layer by layer. If a worker comes upon an artifact - perhaps a piece of pottery - he or she uses a small, soft brush to remove the soil without damaging an object. The loosened soil may be sifted through a fine screen so that even tiny objects are not lost. 

The artifacts are photographed, labeled, cleaned, and then studies carefully to classify and identify them. Experts spend hours putting together fragments of bone, pottery, or other artifacts. They make drawings to show what an object may have looked like unbroken. Samples of soil, clay, paint, and the like may be sent to chemical laboratories to be analyzed. 

THE STUDY OF PREHISTORY

 The study of prehistory depends greatly on written records, which people over the centuries have set down on clay, stone wood, bone, and paper. Yet systems of writing and keeping records are only 5,000 or 6,000 years old, while the story of human progress is much older. The period of time before people kept written records in called prehistory. Some of the most significant events in the history took place during prehistoric times. The exact dates of those achievements are not known, nor are the names of the men and women who made them. Still they are part of our history. How do we learn about those achievements of the distant past. 

THE STUDY OF PREHISTORY

Scientists study evidence of the human past. What we know about prehistoric times comes from unwritten evidence - tools, drawings, pottery, weapons, jewelry, and other objects made by prehistoric people. Because many of the objects left from the earliest part of prehistory are simple stone tools and weapons, the period as a whole has been named the Stone Age. 

Scientists in several fields carry on research about the way Stone Age people lived and what they accomplished. Some of the evidence they find is in the form of artifacts, objects shaped by human beings. Other evidence is provided by fossils, human or animal bones and teeth and other traces left in rocks by plants and animals. 

Scientists examine this evidence in different ways. Archeologists often study places where prehistoric people lived, looking for the remains of homes, graves, and towns and examining the artifacts found there. Anthropologists study artifacts, bones, and other clues and try to determine what people looked like, what they ate, how long they lived, and other characteristics. Geologists analyze fossils and the rocks in which they are found, while the chemists and physicists use special methods to estimate the ages of artifacts and other remains from the past. Botanists and zoologists also contribute their specialized knowledge about plants and animals. 

With the findings from all these different kinds of research, scientists develop theories about how human beings lived in prehistoric times. New discoveries, new research, and new techniques may change their ideas or confirm their theories. The search for knowledge about the human past is a continuing process. 

THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION

THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION

Some of the most impressive achievements in human history were made in the period before people kept written records. Because there are no records of names, dates, or events from prehistoric times, scholars and scientists have developed much time and research to finding unwritten clues and trying to tell the story of the people of those times. They have traced human progress in many areas- making tools, using fire, developing language. They have concluded that people changed from hunting and gathering their food to farming, herding and building settlements. They have looked for evidence of people's religious beliefs and artistic creativity. 

About 5000 or 6000 years ago, people in river valleys in Asia and Africa began to build cities, organize governments, and kept written records. The civilizations they build were based on the achievements made during the immense stretch of prehistoric time.