Why We Love Archaeology (And You Should, Too)

Archaeology … that’s when people dig in the dirt and find fossils and artifacts that just go in a museum, right?

Wrong. It’s so much more than that. So, why is archaeology so important? First, archaeologists do not find “fossils,” that’s paleontology, which is not included under archaeology. Trust me, you don’t want to make that mistake.

So what exactly is archaeology? It’s the study of humans through the material culture and environmental data that they left behind. What is material culture? Think of it as the architecture, the pottery, the weapons, the tools, the cultural landscapes, and even the ‘trash’ of ancient cultures. That’s it. That’s the dry, on paper, bookworm definition of archaeology. Now that that’s out of the way, here’s why we love archaeology and why you should, too!

Time Travel

In a way, archaeology is a form of time travel. We can use artifacts and excavations to look at how people lived and interacted with each other in the past. While our time travel can’t change the past, which science fiction has taught us does more harm than good anyway, it can still change our understanding of the past and help us improve our futures.

Bring History to Life

Archaeology has the ability to make history a tangible thing to people who otherwise would have had a hard time relating. As the old saying goes, “Out of sight. Out of mind.” With archaeology, however, history is brought back into sight. Artifacts are being used in the classroom for a multitude of reasons. By seeing the tools used by people hundreds or thousands of years ago, we can see that even though people did things a little differently, we’re more similar than different. Just thinking about how old some of the objects found are, and what conditions had to be just right for them to survive, is astonishing. The Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, date back to between 385 BCE and 82 CE. Thousands of parchment and papyrus fragments survived that give us a glimpse into that time.

Allure of the Drama and Mystery

Every artifact tells a story and holds a mystery. What was it used for? Why is it there? Both are questions that archaeologists answer. Archaeologists have to use context clues and strong inference to answer many of the questions that arise. There’s always new evidence (clues) to be discovered either supporting or disproving a theory. Though, there’s always the chance a colleague will disagree with you. Some archaeological finds can become quite controversial.

There are still a lot of great mysteries (Like, what’s the meaning of Stonehenge?) to be solved. Archaeology can help us uncover what has been lost of our past, and by doing such, the possibilities for our future are endless.

Going Green

I’ve heard people say that ancient people were much more peaceful and took better care of the Earth. That isn’t entirely true. Bear with me, this is going to start off negative. While ancient cultures were not dropping atomic bombs or experiencing nuclear meltdowns, there were some cultures that completely destroyed their local ecosystems. Ancient civilizations weren’t always peaceful either, but that’s okay. Knowing how peoples in the past affected their environments or interacted, can help us determine the best strategy for solving modern pollution problems and conflicts today.

The ‘Me’ Factor

So, why is any of this important? How does this benefit anyone today? The research going on today has more benefits than I could possibly list. Well, I could list them, but then this post would be extraordinarily long. Instead, I’ll just describe a few. Archaeology can give us a fresh look at diseases that plagued past cultures, helping us improve the world of medicine today. It can help unlock code in our genetic makeup, leading to the origins of genetic ailments.

Now, let’s talk architecture. You want to build a new skyscraper? You’re going to need to call in a CRM (Cultural Resource Management) team to assess if you can build there. If where you’re looking to build has any cultural or heritage significance then you’ll have to find the proper way to continue your project. Boston’s ‘Big Dig’ project alone produced thousands of artifacts. Archaeology has a lot more to do with you than you may think.

We can look at the ‘mistakes’ made by past cultures, and hopefully not repeat them today. Alternatively, we can look at what they did in the past that worked and try to incorporate it into our present lives. How they traveled, how they ate, how they lived.

Archaeology is a grand adventure. Share this post on Facebook or Tweet it to your followers, and tell us why you love archaeology. With the recent closing of different museums and heritage sites, and threats of budget cuts, it’s important for people to see why archaeology is important. Why (in this case) the past shouldn’t stay in the past or be forgotten.

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