| Finding Things in the Ground |
| When people think of archeology, they generally
think of digging or excavation. Excavation is the careful removal of soil
from archeological deposits. During excavation, archeologists find artifacts,
or objects, and features, such as walls. Artifacts,
such as this broken plate pictured on the right, tell archeologists about
what people were using. Features, such as a wall or cistern,
tell us how people were living their lives. Sometimes records or photographs
show items at we find, such as a spitoon. |
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| Soil Levels |
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Soil at an archeological site is not just dirt.
Soil is deposited at a specific time and new soil is deposited on top of
the older soil. By looking at what is in each soil level, the archeologist
can tell when a soil level was created. Archeologists call these soil levels
the stratigraphy of the unit. If the soil layers were laid down evenly
they would look something like a layer cake. This drawing on the left shows
part of a soil profile with the different soil levels marked. To learn more
about this profile and how it was found, click
here. |
| Recording |
| One of the most important aspects of archeological
excavation is makes records of what is done. Maps
of the area, drawings of the soil profiles of each unit like the one above,
notes on what was found in each different soil level, and any features,
such as walls, are recorded. This allows archeologists to know what was
found and where, and can be used to discover the history of the place where
the archeology was done. |
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