• 15 What is Archaeology? How Exploring the Past Enriches the Present by Jennifer Freer Harris and Charlotte A. Smith Archaeology is the single most powerful tool to Etowah or Ocmulgee. Still others think “archaeol- know, understand, and explain the entire...
More
• 15 What is Archaeology? How Exploring the Past Enriches the Present by Jennifer Freer Harris and Charlotte A. Smith Archaeology is the single most powerful tool to Etowah or Ocmulgee. Still others think “archaeol- know, understand, and explain the entire human ogy” when they gaze at “treasures” in museum dis- saga—from our earliest ancestors to modern socie- plays. Actually, none of these truly represents the ty. Thus, archaeology can and does make substan- archaeologist’s archaeology. tial contributions to modern life. Archaeology has While archaeologists are excited by, interested evolved from the glorified treasure hunting of its in, and curious about artifacts and ancient con- early days to be a sophisticated social science, with structions, archaeologists seek to understand the far-reaching explanations of human behavior. Con- interplay of life, of society, of daily chores, of spe- sequently, when professional archaeologists, like cial rituals, of social and political power, and
Less
