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Modern archaeology

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28: 79:. The two constant themes in their attempts to improve archaeological excavation were first, to maintain strict stratigraphic control while excavating (for this purpose, the baulks between trenches served to retain a record of the strata that had been dug through), and second, to publish a record of the excavation promptly and in a form that would tell the story of the site to the intelligent reader. 120:
in 1949. Despite its many limitations (compared to later methods it is inaccurate; it can only be used on organic matter; it is reliant on a dataset to calibrate it; and it only works with remains from the last 10,000 years), the technique brought about a revolution in archaeological understanding.
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Archaeology increasingly became a professional activity during the first half of the 20th century. Although the bulk of an excavation's workforce would still consist of volunteers, it would normally be led by a professional. It was now possible to study archaeology as a subject in universities and
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Bomb damage during the Second World War and subsequent rebuilding gave archaeologists the opportunity to meaningfully examine inhabited cities for the first time. Bombed sites provided windows onto the development of European cities whose pasts had been buried beneath working buildings.
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necessitated a new approach as centuries of human occupation had created deep layers of stratigraphy that could often only be seen through the keyholes of individual building plots. In Britain, post-war archaeologists such as
152:, a technology that measures the height of the ground surface and other features in large areas of landscape with resolution and accuracy that was not previously available. Subsurface remote sensing techniques such as 483:
Damon, P. E.; Donahue, D. J.; Gore, B. H.; Hatheway, A. L.; Jull, A. J. T.; Linick, T. W.; Sercel, P. J.; Toolin, L. J.; Bronk, C. R.; Hall, E. T.; Hedges, R. E. M.; Housley, R.; Law, I. A.; Perry, C.; Bonani, G.;
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For the first time, it was possible to put reasonably accurate dates on discoveries such as bones. This in some cases led to a complete reassessment of the significance of past finds. Classic cases included the
198:, scholars were able to ascertain that Ötzi does not belong to any known human population. In the subsequent years, genetics has helped us reconstruct human migrations that occurred during prehistory. 168:, has been surveyed by these methods, though only a small portion has actually been excavated. The application of physical sciences to archaeology, known as archaeometry or 132:
Other developments, often spin-offs from wartime technology, led to other scientific advances. For field archaeologists, the most significant of these was the use of the
71:, whose highly disciplined approach to excavation and systematic coverage in the 1920s and 1930s brought the science into the modern era. Wheeler developed the 96:
took the initiative in studying this previously unexamined area and developed the archaeological methods now employed in much cultural resource management and
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other schools, and by the end of the 20th century nearly all professional archaeologists, at least in developed countries, were graduates of such programs.
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enable an advanced picture to be built up of what lies beneath the soil before excavation even commences. The entire Roman town of
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This article is about archaeological practices in the modern era. For the archaeological investigation of the historic past, see
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was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the
593: 50: 67:. He was "the prophet and founding hero of modern archaeology". The next major figure in the development of archaeology was 176: 216: 544: 60: 133: 157: 54: 21: 169: 161: 17: 72: 39: 35: 179:, designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and visualize all types of geospatial data. 501: 122: 112:
Undoubtedly the major technological development in 20th century archaeology was the introduction of
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The father of official art history was a German named Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–68).
322: 287: 76: 125:. It was not until 1989 that the Catholic Church allowed the technique to be used on the 505: 485: 137: 64: 577: 315: 245: 117: 93: 521: 429: 195: 153: 126: 89: 221: 317:
Creating Prehistory: Druids, Ley Hunters and Archaeologists in Pre-War Britain
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Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China
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being brought to bear on archaeological science. With the help of
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Tessa Verney Wheeler: Women and Archaeology Before World War Two
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in the early 20th century. Pictured are his excavations at
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Piggott, Stuart (1977). "Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler".
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Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society
244: 468:Biddle, Martin; Hudson, Daphne M (1 April 1973). 217:"Modern archaeology 'much more than excavations'" 75:, which was further improved on by his student 8: 490:"Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin" 445:Mortimer Wheeler: Adventurer in Archaeology 352:Mortimer Wheeler: Adventurer in Archaeology 255:. Random House Publishing Group. p.  292:. New York: Random House. p. 584. 207: 172:, is now a major part of archaeology. 7: 215:CNA News Service (3 October 2018). 150:light detection and ranging (LIDAR) 243:Robinson, Walter (February 1995). 186:of the prehistorical mummy dubbed 14: 175:Archaeology has also come to use 136:. This encompasses a number of 584:Archaeological sub-disciplines 571:, see there for edit history. 562:Attribution: text copied from 190:resulted in the techniques of 177:geographic information systems 1: 182:The discovery in 1991 in the 610: 545:University of Hawaii Press 443:Hawkes, Jacquetta (1982). 408:. The Royal Society: 635. 350:Hawkes, Jacquetta (1982). 61:Johann Joachim Winckelmann 15: 73:grid system of excavation 51:discipline of archaeology 158:ground-penetrating radar 22:Contemporary archaeology 470:Future of London's Past 375:Carr, Lydia C. (2012). 594:History of archaeology 567:History of archaeology 539:Clunas, Craig (2004). 414:10.1098/rsbm.1977.0023 170:archaeological science 43: 18:Historical archaeology 321:. Malden and Oxford: 53:which contributes to 40:Maiden Castle, Dorset 30: 313:Stout, Adam (2008). 140:techniques, such as 123:Red Lady of Paviland 36:system of excavation 506:1989Natur.337..611D 284:Boorstin, Daniel J. 252:Instant Art History 142:aerial photography 134:geophysical survey 114:radiocarbon dating 98:rescue archaeology 47:Modern archaeology 44: 42:, in October 1937. 500:(6208): 611–615. 454:978-0-297-78056-4 386:978-0-19-964022-5 361:978-0-297-78056-4 336:978-1-4051-5505-2 299:978-0-394-72625-0 146:satellite imagery 85:Urban archaeology 601: 570: 565:Old revision of 558: 526: 525: 514:10.1038/337611a0 480: 474: 473: 465: 459: 458: 440: 434: 433: 397: 391: 390: 372: 366: 365: 347: 341: 340: 320: 310: 304: 303: 280: 274: 273: 248: 240: 234: 233: 231: 229: 212: 69:Mortimer Wheeler 32:Mortimer Wheeler 609: 608: 604: 603: 602: 600: 599: 598: 574: 573: 563: 555: 538: 535: 530: 529: 482: 481: 477: 467: 466: 462: 455: 442: 441: 437: 399: 398: 394: 387: 374: 373: 369: 362: 349: 348: 344: 337: 312: 311: 307: 300: 289:The Discoverers 282: 281: 277: 267: 242: 241: 237: 227: 225: 214: 213: 209: 204: 148:. Also used is 110: 77:Kathleen Kenyon 25: 12: 11: 5: 607: 605: 597: 596: 591: 586: 576: 575: 560: 559: 553: 547:. p. 97. 534: 531: 528: 527: 475: 460: 453: 435: 392: 385: 367: 360: 342: 335: 305: 298: 275: 265: 246:"Introduction" 235: 206: 205: 203: 200: 138:remote sensing 109: 108:New technology 106: 65:history of art 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 606: 595: 592: 590: 587: 585: 582: 581: 579: 572: 569: 568: 556: 554:0-8248-2820-8 550: 546: 542: 537: 536: 532: 523: 519: 515: 511: 507: 503: 499: 495: 491: 487: 479: 476: 471: 464: 461: 456: 450: 446: 439: 436: 431: 427: 423: 419: 415: 411: 407: 403: 396: 393: 388: 382: 378: 371: 368: 363: 357: 353: 346: 343: 338: 332: 328: 324: 319: 318: 309: 306: 301: 295: 291: 290: 285: 279: 276: 272: 268: 266:0-449-90698-1 262: 258: 254: 253: 247: 239: 236: 224: 223: 218: 211: 208: 201: 199: 197: 193: 189: 185: 184:Ötztaler Alps 180: 178: 173: 171: 167: 164:, modern day 163: 159: 155: 151: 147: 143: 139: 135: 130: 128: 124: 119: 118:Willard Libby 115: 107: 105: 101: 99: 95: 94:Martin Biddle 91: 86: 80: 78: 74: 70: 66: 62: 58: 56: 52: 48: 41: 37: 33: 29: 23: 19: 566: 561: 543:. Honolulu: 540: 533:Bibliography 497: 493: 486:Trumbore, S. 478: 469: 463: 444: 438: 405: 401: 395: 376: 370: 351: 345: 316: 308: 288: 278: 270: 251: 238: 226:. Retrieved 220: 210: 196:DNA analysis 181: 174: 154:magnetometry 131: 127:Turin Shroud 111: 102: 90:W. F. Grimes 81: 59: 46: 45: 34:pioneered a 222:Cyprus Mail 55:excavations 578:Categories 325:. p.  202:References 162:Viroconium 589:Modernity 323:Blackwell 228:3 October 522:27686437 430:73835587 286:(1983). 192:genetics 166:Wroxeter 502:Bibcode 49:is the 551:  520:  494:Nature 451:  428:  422:769628 420:  383:  358:  333:  296:  263:  518:S2CID 426:S2CID 418:JSTOR 549:ISBN 449:ISBN 381:ISBN 356:ISBN 331:ISBN 294:ISBN 261:ISBN 230:2018 188:Ötzi 156:and 144:and 92:and 510:doi 498:337 410:doi 327:208 257:240 580:: 516:. 508:. 496:. 492:. 424:. 416:. 406:23 404:. 329:. 269:. 259:. 249:. 219:. 100:. 57:. 557:. 524:. 512:: 504:: 472:. 457:. 432:. 412:: 389:. 364:. 339:. 302:. 232:. 24:.

Index

Historical archaeology
Contemporary archaeology

Mortimer Wheeler
system of excavation
Maiden Castle, Dorset
discipline of archaeology
excavations
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
history of art
Mortimer Wheeler
grid system of excavation
Kathleen Kenyon
Urban archaeology
W. F. Grimes
Martin Biddle
rescue archaeology
radiocarbon dating
Willard Libby
Red Lady of Paviland
Turin Shroud
geophysical survey
remote sensing
aerial photography
satellite imagery
light detection and ranging (LIDAR)
magnetometry
ground-penetrating radar
Viroconium
Wroxeter

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