History Guides Archaeology

National Archives: catalog.archives.gov/id/169139184

When most people think about archaeology, they probably envision exotic locals and the search for “lost tribes” or “buried cities.” While this perception is great for publicity, it has very little bearing on what archaeology is really all about. This common idea is misleading since a great deal of archaeological research happens in our own backyards and often goes unnoticed.

Midwest Archaeological Center

Image Courtesy Southeast Archaeological Center

Others see archaeology strictly about digging or working in the field. However, most of the work that archaeologists do takes place in the lab or office long after they leave the field.

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Archeologists utilize patterning to help understand the relationship among what things are left behind, what they are found with, when they were deposited, and by whom and why.

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Historical archaeology is the process of taking various threads of information about artifact types, location in soils and features, association, date, and historic documents and weaving them together to identify patterning that allows us to interpret everyday life in the past.

What Do Archaeologists Do?

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Looting, or otherwise disturbing sites, is destructive because it destroys the patterning of archaeological sites making further interpretation impossible. A significant site can be looted into insignificance. An example of this would be Fossil Cycad National Monument.

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Looting is also a problem locally. Here's a looter hole found at a local mine site. What stories have we lost due to looting?

Looting & Vandalism