Why Is Archeology Important?

Why is archeology important? When you think of archeology, you envision people with chisels and brushes, digging through sand to unearth secrets of lost civilizations. This quest to unearth lost secrets is why they dig.  

Archaeology is the scientific study of past cultures; how and where they lived.

The word “archaeology comes from the Greek “archaiologia”, with “arkhaīos” meaning "ancient" and “logiā meaning “-logy”; the “study of ancient things”.

Archaeology is not the study of dinosaurs. That would be what paleontologists study.

Archaeologists study human cultures. Archaeology is not the study of rocks and minerals. That is what geologists study.  However, an archaeologist needs a basic understanding of geology because sometimes artifacts are made of rock, like the arrowhead on the tip of a spear.  

Why Is Archaeology Important?

The process of discovery starts with surveying an area to determine whether or not that would be a place of activity from ancient times. When a site is found, the excavation begins. When the material remains are found, it’s back to the lab for the investigation. The remains are studied and analyzed to piece together ancient culture.   

By studying the past, we learn more about ourselves; how we came to be, problems we may face, and things we may need to avoid. We can find out when early man melted together tin and copper to make bronze. We find out about ancient medical practices, and weather events that changed the way people lived. Knowing weather patterns in the past may help predict future climate changes. 

Another answer to the question, “Why is archaeology important?” would concern understanding religious practices of the past. This helps us understand ancient cultures and know about changes that occurred over times and the reasons for those changes.   

Archaeology is important to validate written records. When you find written text, you do not know if it is a work of fiction or nonfiction. Texts can be biased and subject to the author’s interpretation of events. In studying prehistoric times, you discover real objects, like weapons used to hunt animals, or artifacts, like pottery and utensils, that can give you a real understanding of the way people lived.  

Important Finds

One way to answer the question, “Why is archaeology important?” is to discuss important archaeological digs and what they found in them. On the Red Sea, a 4000 year old rope was found. Interestingly, it was coiled and tightened in the middle, the same way we store rope today. 

The deepest archaeological dig was to a depth of 53 feet. It was the dig that uncovered the city of Troy, found at Hissarlik in Turkey. This showed that the stories in Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad were based on real events. The oldest gold found in Britain was dated to around 2400 B. C. The Amesbury Archer was buried with two golden hair tresses. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls were another monumental find. Scrolls were found that were much of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. These were dated at least 1000 years earlier than any other biblical texts that have been found. 

In Oregon 14,300 year old feces was discovered in a cave. The DNA has been extracted from it and this may solve some mysteries about the first people who lived in America.

A chunk of a Homo erectus jawbone was found in a cave in Spain which dates back to 1.3 million years ago. This places humans in Europe 500,000 years before previously thought.   

Unsolved Mysteries

How were the pyramids built” and “Was there really an island called Atlantis?” are questions that may be answered by archaeology. The world's largest stone statue "The Great Sphinx of Giza" has a mystery around it. Evidence of water erosion shows it was built 2500 years before the pyramids. Some say that was impossible because of the tools available at that time.

The Machu Picchu site in South America is famous, but the site of Marcahuasi is more mysterious. There are mountain sized sculptures that have no explanation as to why they were made. But the real mystery is the images of animals from another continent, such as lions and elephants. 

A vase was found in Egypt that was made from hard stone. It is very smooth and looks like it was made with a lathe. That is something which is impossible for us to duplicate today, especially because the vase has a very small opening.

The story of the lost island of Atlantis was told by Plato over two thousand years ago. But, at that time, there was a legend of Atlantis going back nine thousand years, which would put the civilization of Atlantis at 12,000 years ago. Some people think it was located in the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Bahamas, South America, or even Antarctica. Wherever it was, it sank into the ocean. So, was there really an island called Atlantis. We may never know. If we do, the answer will come from archaeology.