Wednesday Word of the Week: Archaeology
archaeology (ar-kee-AH-luh-jihst). n. study of human history, based on material remains. (National Geographic Education)
Archaeology uses human remains to describe our past. Throughout human civilization, few societies have left us with consistent written or oral histories of their time. Many societies have all but disappeared, with few traces of their existence remaining. In order to learn more about these people, we rely on archaeologists, who find and explain the objects and other artifacts that people created and used in their daily lives.
Watch in the video below as Fred Hiebert, a National Geographic Fellow, gives an overview of the work of a professional archaeologist to a group of second graders:
From the famous archaeological ruins of Machu Picchu, to remains in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, and on to discoveries in the underwater caves of the Yucatan Peninsula, archaeology can take place anywhere on the planet where humans have lived.
