Types of Archeology
Bioarcheology:
This is the study of human remains. It is through bioarcheology that archeologists have learned about the evolution of mankind.
Zooarcheology:
This is the study of animal remains. This field has helped to show how dinosaurs evolved and their relationship to the birds of today. It is one of the widest fields of study in archeology.
Paleoethnobotany:
This is the study of plant remains.
Other fields of study in archeology are:
lithics, which studies stone tools and underwater archeology. There are also archeologists who study and map out archeological sites. These are perhaps the most important archeologists.
Archeological Methods
Before modern technologies were developed, archeologists used trial and error methods. They identified a site that needed to be excavated to identify whether or not it possessed the remains they needed to analyze. Nowadays, however, there are more efficient and accurate archaeological methods.
They include:
1Â Â Â Â Remote Sensing
Before starting to dig at a particular location, archeologists need to first know what lies beneath the ground. Remote sensing uses ground penetrating radar to 'see' what lies beneath the ground. There are basically two categories of remote sensing technologies: passive and active. Passive remote sensing technology detects energy emitted from the targeted area. Active remote sensing technologies, on the other hand, emit energy and records the energy that is reflected from the target area. A great example of passive remote sensing is satellite imagery. LIDAR and LASER altimeter are two examples of active remote sensing.
2Â Â Â Â Excavation
This is perhaps the oldest archeological technique. It entails removing soil and rocks from the excavation site to reveal remains that may interest archeologists. Most excavations are usually done using hand tools with the archeologists on standby onsite to analyze samples. This method is time-consuming, but it is best suited for certain archeological expeditions.
3Â Â Â Â Field Survey
This is the attempt to locate unknown sites in a suspected archeological site. This method does not require heavy excavation work and takes little time. Most archeological projects usually start with a field survey. In some cases, the survey can be done once an archeological project has began.
4Â Â Â Â Â Drones
Most archeologists nowadays use drones to carry out aerial surveys. This is a quick and cost effective method for surveying an archeological area from the air. It's also what an Albuquerque roofing company would use when doing inspections on roofs. With as little as $700, archeologists can procure a drone to quickly map out archeological sites before excavation and further exploration can commence. Drones can have different capabilities that archeologists may find useful.
5Â Â Â Virtual Archeology
Nowadays, archeologists use special computer software to build models that make their work easier. It is possible to build 3-dimensional models of archeological sites. Astronomical calculations, photogrammetry and digital topographical methods can be combined to give archeologists a clearer picture of an archeological site.
Carbon dating is one of the methods used to date archeological sites. There are also many other dating techniques that archeologists can use nowadays.
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