Archaeology is a social science, with an emphasis on the word science. This means that the work that is conducted is done in a systematic acquisition of new knowledge about nature and the body of already existing knowledge gained. The scientific method is based on careful observation and the testing of theories by experiments. Archaeology uses these scientific procedures to study antiquities such as the remains of buildings or monuments of an early age, inscriptions, implements, written manuscripts and other relics.

An archaeological excavation, therefore, consists of a process including an initial site survey, breaking the area to be excavated into quadrants, carefully removing soil, recording precise locations of objects and features or provenance, marking and photographing each incremental soil layer (every piece of information retrieved from the site must be related to the layers, finds and structures around it, so that the complex relationships that contribute to the interpretation...
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