Portal:Archaeology

Topics Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology  History Ancient Egypt Ancient Germanic Culture Ancient Greece Ancient Japan Ancient Near East Ancient Rome Anglo-Saxon England Archaeology Austria-Hungary  British Empire Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire Classical Civilisation Colonialism Crusades Dacia Disasters German Empire Heraldry History of Canada  History of science Imperial China Indian independence movement Khitan Latter Day Saint movement Middle Ages Mughal Empire New France Ottoman Empire Russian Empire Sasanian Empire Seljuk Empire Soviet Union  War Archaeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis and presentation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, features, biofacts, and landscapes. The goals of archaeology vary, and there is debate as to what its aims and responsibilities are. Some goals include the documentation and explanation of the origins and development of human cultures, understanding culture history, chronicling cultural evolution, and studying human behavior and ecology, for both prehistoric and historical societies. Also, Archaeologists are concerned with the study of methods used in the discipline, and the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings underlying the questions archaeologists ask of the past. The tasks of surveying areas to find new sites, excavating sites to recover cultural remains, classification, analysis, and preservation are all important phases of the archaeological process. These are all important sources of information. Given the broad nature of the discipline, there is a great deal of cross-disciplinary research in archaeology. It draws upon anthropology, history, art history, classics, ethnology, geography, physics, information sciences, chemistry, statistics, paleoecology, paleontology, paleozoology, paleoethnobotany, paleobotany. Template:/box-footer The Norte Chico civilization was a complex Pre-Columbian society that included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru. It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, having flourished between the 30th century BC and the 18th century BC. The alternative name, Caral-Supe, is derived from Caral in the Supe Valley, a large and well-studied Norte Chico site. Complex society in Norte Chico emerged just a millennium after Sumer, was contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, and predated the Mesoamerican Olmec by nearly two millennia. In archaeological nomenclature, Norte Chico is a Preceramic culture of the pre-Columbian Late Archaic; it completely lacked ceramics and was largely without art. The most impressive achievement of the civilization was its monumental architecture, including large platform mounds and sunken circular plazas. Archaeological evidence suggests use of textile technology and, possibly, the worship of common god symbols, both of which recur in pre-Columbian Andean cultures. Sophisticated government is assumed to have been required to manage the ancient Norte Chico, and questions remain over its organization, particularly the impact of food resources on politics. Archaeologists have been aware of ancient sites in the area since at least the 1940s; early work occurred at Aspero on the coast, a site identified as early as 1905, and later at Caral further inland. Peruvian archaeologists, led by Ruth Shady Solís, provided the first extensive documentation of the civilization in the late 1990s, with work at Caral. ...that some experts believe a cylinder seal from the prehistoric San Andrés site is evidence for an Olmec writing system? ...that Varbola Stronghold was the largest circular rampart fortress and a trading center built in Ancient Estonia that only lost its importance in the 14th Century? ...that the Assyrian King Sargon II deported more than 100,000 rebels from Babylon as punishment? ...that zaojing, an elaborately-ornamented wooden ceiling, shaped like a well and often painted with water plants, was believed by the ancient Chinese to prevent wooden buildings from burning? ▼ Archaeology ► Archaeology by region ► Periods and stages in archaeology ► Archaeological sub-disciplines ► Archaeological cultures ► Archaeologists ► Archaeology awards ► Cultural heritage ► Methods in archaeology ► Archaeological organisations ► Pseudoarchaeology ► Archaeological sites ► Archaeological theory ► Treasure ► Archaeology stubs The Colosseum in Rome, Italy, at dusk. Although it is now in a severely ruined condition, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is one of the finest surviving examples of Roman architecture. WikiProjects connected with archaeology: WikiProject Archaeology WikiProject History WikiProject Ancient Near East WikiProject Ancient Egypt WikiProject Mesoamerica WikiProject Aztec WikiProject Mythology WikiProject Science WikiProject Bible WikiProject Numismatics WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome WikiProject Norse history and culture WikiProject Anthropology History Classical Civilisation Egyptology Ancient Germanic culture History of science War Roman military Heraldry and vexillology Ancient Rome Byzantine Empire British Empire American Revolutionary War Middle Ages Crusades What are portals? List of portals Featured portals