Archaeological science (also known as Archaeometry) is the application of scientific techniques and methodologies to archaeology. Excavation is just one stage of archaeological research. ...

Archaeological science can be divided into the following areas:

• Physical and chemical dating methods which provide archaeology with absolute and relative chronologies.
• Artefact studies incorporating (i) provenance, (ii) technology, and (iii) use.
• Environmental approaches which provide information on past landscapes, climates, flora, and fauna as well as diet, nutrition, health, and pathology of people.
• Mathematical methods as tools for data treatment also encompassing the role of computers in handling, analysing, and modelling the vast sources of data.
• Remote sensing applications comprising a battery of non-destructive techniques for the location and characterisation of buried features at the regional, microregional, and intra-site levels.
• Conservation sciences, involving the study of decay processes and the development of new methods of conservation.

This data was taken from: Tite, M.S. (1991) Archaeological Science - past achievements and future prospects. Archaeometry 31 139-151.

Significant new data can be obtained using these techniques, which has the potential to alter the understanding of the past. A good example of this is the so-called "Second radiocarbon revolution", which significantly re-dated European prehistory in the 1960's (the first radiocarbon revolution was the original introduction of the method to archaeology). A scientific method used to ascertain the actual age of an artifact is called radiocarbon dating. ...

As indicated, one of the most important applications of archaeological science has been the absolute dates it can provide for archaeological strata and artefacts. Some of most important of these are: For discussion regarding the term strata as used in geology, see stratum. ... An artifact (also artefact) is a term coined by Sir Julian Huxley meaning any object or process resulting from human activity. ...

• Radiocarbon dating - for dating organic materials
• Dendrochronology - for dating trees, but also very important for calibrating radiocarbon dates.
• Thermoluminescence dating - for dating inorganic material including ceramics.
• Optically Stimulated Luminescence - for absolutely dating and relatively profiling buried land surfaces in vertical and horizontal stratigraphic sections, most often by measuring photons discharged from Quartz grains within sedimentary bodies, although Feldspars are also able to be measured through this technique, complications caused by internally induced dose rates often mean Quartz-based analyses are favoured in archaeological applications.
• Electron spin resonance
• Potassium-argon dating - for dating fossilized hominid remains.

However, archaeological science has been applied in many other ways. A variety of methods have been used to analyse artefacts, either to determine more about their composition, or to determine their provenance. These techniques include: Radiocarbon dating is the use of the naturally occurring isotope of carbon-14 in radiometric dating to determine the age of organic materials, up to ca. ... Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings Cheraw, South Carolina Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree ring patterns. ... Thermoluminescence dating is the determination of the date at which materials were formed by measuring the light energy released when heating it. ... Optically Stimulated Luminescence is a method for measuring doses from ionizing radiation (commonly known as radioactive radiation). ... Overview Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) or Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) is a spectroscopic technique which detects species that have unpaired electrons, generally meaning that it must be a free radical, if it is an organic molecule, or that it has transition metal ions if it is a inorganic complex. ... Potassium-argon or K-Ar dating is a method used by archaeologists and geologists to ascertain the date of ancient mineral deposits. ... Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - Orangutans Gigantopithecus (extinct) Sivapithecus (extinct) Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - Gorillas Pan - Chimpanzees Homo - Humans Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Pierolapithecus (extinct) (tentative) The Hominids (Hominidae) are a biological family which includes humans, extinct species of humanlike creatures and the other great apes...

• X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
• Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
• Neutron activation analysis (NAA)
• Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
• Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

Lead, strontium and oxygen isotope analysis can also be applied to human remains to estimate the diet and the even birthplace of study subjects. In X-ray fluorescence (XRF) a material is exposed to X-rays with a relatively high energy. ... ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) is a type of mass spectrometry that is highly sensitive and capable of simultaneous analysis of a range of metals at the parts per a billion level. ... In chemistry, neutron activation analysis is a technique used to very accurately determine the concentrations of elements in a sample. ... SEM image of an ant head The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope capable of producing high resolution images of a sample surface. ... Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a type of atomic emission spectroscopy which utilises a highly energetic laser pulse as the excitation source. ... For the lead in news writing, see news style. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Strontium, Sr, 38 Series Alkaline earth metal Group, Period, Block 2 (IIA), 5, s Density, Hardness 2630 kg/m3, 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16 (VIA), 2, p Density, Hardness 1. ... The distribution of stable isotopes and certain elements within a food web make it possible to draw direct inferences regarding diet, trophic level, and subsistence. ...

Provenance analysis has the potential to determine the original source of the material used, for example, to create a particular artefact. This can show how far the artefact has been transported and can be used to indicate systems of exchange.

The use of remote sensing has enabled archaeologists to identify many more archaeological sites than would otherwise have been possible. The use of aerial photography remains the most wide-spread remote sensing technique, but this has been supplemented by the use of satellite imagery, especially with the declassification of images from military satellites. In the broadest sense, remote sensing is the measurement or acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object. ... Aerial photography is the taking of photographs from above with a camera mounted on an aircraft, balloon, rocket, kite or similar vehicle. ... Satellite imagery are photographs of Earth or other planets made from artificial satellites. ...

Techniques such as lithic analysis, paleobotany, palynology and zooarchaeology are also sub-discplines of archaeological science. In archaeology, lithic analysis is the analysis of stone tools using basic scientific techniques. ... Paleobotany (from the Greek words paleon = old and votany = plant) is the branch of paleontology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use in the reconstruction of past environments. ... Palynology is the science that studies contemporary and fossil palynomorphs, including pollen, spores, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, chitinozoans and scolecodonts, together with particulate organic matter (POM) and kerogen found in sedimentary rocks and sediments. ... Zooarchaeology is the study of animal remains from archaeological sites. ...