Who cares about stuff that’s old, broken, half-rotted, and falling apart? Who likes to pick through garbage dumps?
Archaeologists, that’s who. Archaeology (ar-kee-AH-luh-gee) is the study of stuff left by people who have been gone a long time. An archaeologist’s goal is to learn about people who left things behind a long time ago.
Artifacts are objects made by humans, so finding these things is the first step. Archaeologists must also recover them, preserve them, and unlock their secrets. How and why were the artifacts made? Who used them? Bit by bit, archaeologists paint a picture of human history. It’s a picture that changes each time new artifacts are found. It’s also an unfinished picture; many artifacts are lost forever. Also, many human activities leave no objects behind. Still, it’s the best picture we have of long-gone people and places.
