What is Archaeology?

Archaeology is the study of past human cultures through the physical remains those cultures have left behind.

Before you become a 'virtual archaeologist' yourself, there are a few things your should know. This page will provide some of the basic concepts and principles that all archaeologists must understand.

Archaeological Sites
Artifacts and Features
Two Archaeological Laws

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Archaeological Sites

Archaeological sites are places where evidence of past human activity can be found. They can be large, like the Roman city of Pompeii, or small, like a single shipwreck. The Grand-Pré area contains the archaeological remains of the most populous Acadian community in the 1700s. It extended for several kilometers. Grand-Pré National Historic Site contains only a part of the original Acadian community. Within this national historic site, you will have an opportunity to virtually excavate several distinct archaeological sites in your hunt for the lost church of Saint-Charles-des-Mines.

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Artifacts and Features

The physical remains of past human activity are called artifacts. All artifacts are synthetic. In other words, they are not naturally occurring. They must be made or altered by people in some way. For example, a stone lying on the ground is not an artifact. However, if some one picks it up, duct-tapes it to a stick, and wields it as a weapon, it becomes an artifact.

Most of the artifacts archaeologists find are made of very durable materials (e.g. stone, metals, ceramic, glass), because these are most often the only materials that can resist decomposition for hundreds of years. But sometimes, if the chemical composition of the soil is right, more fragile materials may survive (e.g. wood, bone, leather). This often occurs in environments where the decomposing effects of acids and bacteria are reduced, such as in waterlogged, very cold, or very dry environments.

Features are a special type of artifact. Features are physical remains of past human activity that are not portable, but are part of the terrain. For example, an abandoned house will eventually collapse and much of its structure (especially the wood) will decay. However, evidence of the pit underneath the house - the cellar - will remain. Even if the cellar is eventually filled with debris, archaeologists will be able to clean it out and recognize it as an archaeological feature. The same goes for the building's foundation, assuming it isn't completely destroyed by later human activity. Wells, privies (outhouses), hearths, and fence posts may also leave physical traces. These are all examples of archaeological features.

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Two Archaeological Laws

Two basic principles help archaeologists interpret the artifacts and features they discover. These principles are so important that archaeologists actually refer to them as laws: The Law of Association and the Law of Superposition.

The Law of Association states that all artifacts found together belong together. In other words, they result from a common set of human actions. If we interpret them together, they should tell a story. According to this principle, archaeological excavation must be conducted carefully to ensure that artifacts that were deposited together are collected together. This leads in to the next law.

Artifacts and features tend to occur in the ground in layers, much like the layers of a cake. This is especially true at sites where humans have been living for long periods of time, where more recent structures are built on top of the remains of earlier structures. The Law of Superposition simply states that the layers on top are more recent than the layers underneath. Therefore, the deepest layers of an archaeological site should also be the oldest.

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