ARCHAEOLOGY and ANTHROPOLOGY

Archaeology Archaeology is the study of past societies through analysis of what people left behind. Archaeologists dig up and examine artifacts. Artifacts: objects made by humans. Can you think of examples of artifacts? Tools, weapons, art, buildings, etc.

What might these artifacts reveal about the humans who made them?

Archaeologists at Work

Anthropology Anthropology is the study of human life and culture. Culture includes what people wear, how they organize their society, and what they value. Anthropologists use artifacts and human fossils to create a picture of people’s everyday lives. Fossils are rocklike remains of organisms

Methods Archaeologists and anthropologists have developed scientific methods in their work They excavate sites, or carefully dig up land, to uncover fossil remains of early humans, burial grounds, and other objects. By examining artifacts, these scientists learn many important things about an ancient society.

Dating Artifacts and Fossils One of the most difficult jobs for these scientists is dating their finds. One method used to determine age is carbon dating. All living things absorb a small amount of radioactive carbon, or C-14, from the atmosphere. After a living thing dies, it loses carbon. By measuring the amount left in an object, scientists can figure out its age. Works for objects no more than about 50,000 years old.

Thermoluminescence For objects dating back to 200,000 years ago, scientists can make precise measurements by using thermoluminescence. The measures of light given off by electrons trapped in the soil surrounding fossils and artifacts. Chlorophane exhibiting thermoluminescence when heated. Chlorophane

Question #1 What do archaeology and anthropology, and history teach us about prehistoric humans?

EXIT TICKET Make a list of three historical artifacts that provide clues about how humans lived in the past. Describe what these clues are. Artifacts can be from any period in history