NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Archaeological site

An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... Ancient history is from the period of time when writing and historical records first appear, roughly 5,500 years before the Common Era. ... Contemporary is an adjective which in its basic form merely means that two individuals, events or movements overlapped in time. ... Importance and applicability Most of human history is not described by any written records. ...

Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely, depending on the period studied and the theoretical approach of the archaeologist.

It is almost invariably difficult to delimit a site. It is sometimes taken to indicate a settlement of some sort although the archaeologist must also define the limits of human activity around the settlement. Any episode of deposition such as a hoard or burial can form a site as well. Development-led archaeology undertaken as cultural resources management has the disadvantage (or the benefit) of having its sites defined by the limits of the intended development. Even in this case however, in describing and interpreting the site, the archaeologist will have to look outside the boundaries of the building site. For the software, see hoard memory allocator. ... By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ... Cultural resources management (CRM) is a branch of archaeology concerned with the identification, maintenance, and preservation of significant cultural sites in the face of threats such as development, erosion or unsustainable visitor numbers. ...

Traditionally, sites are distinguished by the presence of both artifacts and features. Common features include the remains of hearths and houses. Ecofacts, biological materials (such as bones, scales, and even feces) that are the result of human activity but are not deliberately modified, are also common at many archaeological sites. In the cases of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, a mere scatter of flint flakes will also constitute a site worthy of study. Different archaeologists may see an ancient town, and its nearby cemetery as being two different sites, or as being part of the same wider site. The precepts of landscape archaeology attempt to see each discrete unit of human activity in the context of the wider environment, further distorting the concept of the site as a demarcated area. Furthermore, geoarchaeologists or environmental archaeologists would also consider a sequence of natural geological or organic deposition, in the absence of human activity, to constitute a site worthy of study. This article is about the archaeological concept of artifacts (or artefacts). ... In archaeology, the term feature is generally used to refer to any nonportable remnant of human activity, such as a hearth, road, or house remains, later found or recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ... In archaeology, a biofact or ecofact is an object, found at an archaeological site and carrying archaeological significance, but (unlike an artifact) not altered by human hands. ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic – lit. ... The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age) is the period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. ... In archaeology, a lithic flake is a thin, sharp fragment of stone that results from the process of lithic reduction. ... Landscape archaeology refers to a body of method and theory for the study of past people and their material culture within the context of their interactions in the wider social and natural environment they inhabited. ... Geoarchaeology is a sub-field of archaeology which uses the techniques and subject matter of the earth sciences to examine topics which inform archaeological knowledge and thought. ... Environmental archaeology is the study of the long-term relationship between humans and their environments. ...

Archaeological sites usually form through human-related processes but can be subject to natural, post-depositional factors. Cultural remnants which have been buried by sediments are in many environments more likely to be preserved than exposed cultural remnants. Natural actions resulting in sediment being deposited include alluvial (water-related) or aeolian (wind-related) natural processes. In jungles and other areas of lush plant growth, decomposed vegetative sediment can result in layers of soil deposited over remains. Colluviation, the burial of a site by sediments moved by gravity (called hillwash) can also happen at sites on slopes. Human activities (both deliberate and incidental) also often bury sites. It is common in many cultures for newer structures to be built atop the remains of older ones. Urban archaeology has developed especially to deal with these sorts of site. Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... Aeolian means related to, caused by, or carried by the wind; see eolian. ... This article is about Jungle, the terrain. ... Colluvium or hillwash is the name for loose bodies of sediment that has been deposited or built up at the bottom of a low grade slope or against a barrier on that slope, as a result of rainwater or downhill creep. ... Colluvium or hillwash is the name for loose bodies of sediment that has been deposited or built up at the bottom of a low grade slope or against a barrier on that slope, as a result of rainwater or downhill creep. ... Urban archaeology is a sub discipline of archaeology specialising in the material past of towns and cities where long-term human habitation has often left a rich record of the past. ...

A list of archeological sites around the world can be found at:

Some notable archaeological sites include: This is a list of archaeological sites is sorted by country. ... This list of archaeological sites is sorted by continent and then by the age of the site. ...

This partial list should be integrated into the above two and removed from here.

Many sites are the subject of ongoing excavation or investigation. Note the difference between archaeological sites and archaeological discoveries. Cahokia is a village located in St. ... Casa Grande is a city located in Pinal County, Arizona. ... Temple of the Warriors Chichen Itza is the largest of the Pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Yucat n, Mexico. ... Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site _ the Caves (taken in July 2004) Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien is a cave system near Beijing, China. ... Chysauster Ancient Village is Romano-British village of courtyard houses in Cornwall. ... Grimes Graves is a large Neolithic flint mining complex near Brandon in England close to the border between Norfolk and Suffolk. ... Knossos Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek Κνωσσός) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan culture. ... View of Machu Picchu Machu Picchu (literally means old peak; sometimes called the Lost City of the Incas) is a well-preserved pre-Columbian town located on a high mountain ridge, at an elevation of about 6,750 feet (2,057 m) above the Urubamba Valley in modern-day Peru. ... Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney (off northern Scotland). ... Meadowcroft Rock Shelter is an archaeological site located near Avella in Washington County, in southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. ... Monte Verde is a site in Chile, which is supsected to date back about 14,500 years, making it one of the earliest inhabited sites in the Americas. ... This article is about the ancient Middle Eastern city of Nineveh. ... Snaketown is the name of a former Native American settlement in Arizonas lower Gila River valley in the United States of America. ... Stonehenge Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury. ... Sutton Hoo parade helmet Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, is the site of an early 7th century Anglo-Saxon ship burial, discovered in 1939 that contains a wealth of artifacts. ... Walls of the excavated city of Troy (Turkey) This article is about the city of Troy / Ilion as described in the works of Homer, and the location of an ancient city associated with it. ... List of famous archaeological discoveries Most of the archeological discoveries listed below had significance for the development of archaeology as a discipline and added to human knowledge. ...

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