Archaeology

“If there is one issue on which nearly all archeologists can agree, it is the importance of chronology.”
– Jeffrey S. Dean (1978)^{[11, p.223]}

“The application of archaeology as a recognized method of adding to historical knowledge is very largely in its infancy in North America, and even more so in Great Britain. True, archaeology – in various standards of competence and incompetence – has been used on Classical and Near and Middle Eastern sites for 100 years or more, and the cultures excavated have been historical (in the sense of having a written past) or partly so.”
– Iain C. Walker (1967)^{[1, p.23]}

“The study of the antiquity of man in North America took on its present dimensions and significance in the latter half of the nineteenth century. By the 1860s, Eurpoean geologists and prehistorians had demonstrated that man’s past antedated the biblical chronology.”
– David J. Meltzer (1983)^{[2, p.1]}

Archaeology is also spelled archeology.

Archeology Definitions

Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary of the English Language does not include the word archeology/archaeology.

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defined archeology as a noun meaning:^[3]
“A discourse an antiquity; learning or knowledge which respects ancient times.”

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defined it as a noun meaning:^[4]
1 – “the scientific study of material remains (such as tools, pottery, jewelry, stone walls, and monuments) of past human life and activities”
2 – “remains of the culture of a people : ANTIQUITIES”

Dictionary.com defined it as a noun meaning:^[5]
1 – the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, especially those that have been excavated.
2 – Rare. ancient history; the study of antiquity.

Lexico defined it as a noun meaning:^[6]
“The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains.”

Archeology Etymology

c.1560 – Earliest use according to the Google Ngram Viewer. The word gained popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries but has been used less in the 21st century.

c. 1600 – “”ancient history,” from French archéologie (16c.) or directly from Greek arkhaiologia “the study of ancient things;” see archaeo- + -ology. Meaning “scientific study of ancient peoples and past civilizations” is recorded by 1825.”^[7]

1600-1610 – Alleged first know use.
 It “is from the Greek word archaiología the discussion of antiquities. See archaeo-, -logy”^[5]

“Early 17th century (in the sense ‘ancient history’): from modern Latin archaeologia, from Greek arkhaiologia ‘ancient history’, from arkhaios ‘ancient’. The current sense dates from the mid 19th century.”^[6]

1832 – Alleged first know use. Defined as point 1 above.
“French archéologie, from Late Latin archaeologia antiquarian lore, from Greek archaiologia, from archaio- + -logia -logy”^[4]

Father of Archeology

Roberto Weiss identified Leon Alberti as the founder of archeology.^{[9, p.44]}

Mary Krupka reported that Hermann Schliemann is typically considered to be the “founder of archeology”.^[10]

Ctruth Archeology Articles

List of Archaeologists Born Before 1900.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

References:

[1] – Walker, Iain C. “Historic Archaeology-Methods and Principles.” Historical Archaeology, vol. 1, 1967, pp. 23-34. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25615066. Accessed 21 Aug. 2020.

[2] – Meltzer, David J. “The Antiquity of Man and the Development of American Archaeology.” Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 6, 1983, pp. 1-51. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20210064. Accessed 21 Aug. 2020.

[3] – http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/archeology. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

[4] – “Archaeology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaeology. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

[5] – https://www.dictionary.com/browse/archaeology. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

[6] – https://www.lexico.com/definition/archaeology. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

[7] – https://www.etymonline.com/word/archaeology. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

[8] – https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=archeology&year_start=1500&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=0. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

[9] – Pyle, Cynthia M. “Bridging the Gap.: A Different View of Renaissance Humanism and Science.” The Making of the Humanities: Volume 1- Early Modern Europe, edited by Rens Bod et al., Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2010, pp. 39–58. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n1vz.5. Accessed 27 Oct. 2020.

[10] – https://www.quora.com/Who-is-considered-the-founder-of-anthropological-archaeology. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

[11] – Dean, Jeffrey S. “Independent Dating in Archaeological Analysis.” Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 1, 1978, pp. 223–255. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20170134. Accessed 11 Jan. 2021.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Buy Ctruth t-shirts, hoodies, and more @

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Gain access to exclusive Ctruth activities, benefits, and content @

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Support Ctruth directly by donating @

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~