ARCHAEOLOGY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does archaeology mean? 

• ARCHAEOLOGY (noun)
  The noun ARCHAEOLOGY has 1 sense:

1. the branch of anthropology that studies prehistoric people and their cultures

  Familiarity information: ARCHAEOLOGY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ARCHAEOLOGY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The branch of anthropology that studies prehistoric people and their cultures

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

archaeology; archeology

Hypernyms ("archaeology" is a kind of...):

anthropology (the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings)

Domain member category:

archeological site; dig; excavation (the site of an archeological exploration)

Stone Age ((archeology) the earliest known period of human culture, characterized by the use of stone implements)

eitchen midden; kitchen midden; midden ((archeology) a mound of domestic refuse containing shells and animal bones marking the site of a prehistoric settlement)

Bronze Age ((archeology) a period between the Stone and Iron Ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons)

Iron Age ((archeology) the period following the Bronze Age; characterized by rapid spread of iron tools and weapons)

anastylosis (the archeological reassembly of ruined monuments from fallen or decayed fragments (incorporating new materials when necessary))

Folsom culture (the Paleo-American culture of Central America and North America; distinguished chiefly by a thin finely made flint projectile point having the shape of a leaf)

Clovis culture (the Paleo-American culture of Central America and North America; distinguished chiefly by sharp fluted projectile points made of obsidian or chalcedony)

civilisation; civilization; culture (a particular society at a particular time and place)

barrow; burial mound; grave mound; tumulus ((archeology) a heap of earth placed over prehistoric tombs)

armilla ((archeology) a bracelet worn around the wrist or arm)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "archaeology"):

Assyriology (archeology of the ancient Assyrians)

Egyptology (archeology of ancient Egyptian artifacts)

Sumerology (the archeology of ancient Sumerians)

marine archaeology; marine archeology; underwater archaeology; underwater archeology (the archeology of underwater sites)

palaeoclimatology; paleoclimatology (the study of the climate of past ages)

palaeogeography; paleogeography (the study of the geography of ancient times or ancient epochs)

paleography (the study of ancient forms of writing (and the deciphering of them))

palaeopathology; paleopathology (the study of disease of former times (as inferred from fossil evidence))

palaetiology; paletiology (the explanation of past events in terms of scientific causes (as geological causes))

palaeology; paleology (the study of (especially prehistoric) antiquities)

protoanthropology; protohistory (the study humans prior to the invention of writing)

palaeoethnography; paleoethnography (the ethnography of paleolithic humans)

Derivation:

archaeologic; archaeological (related to or dealing with or devoted to archaeology)

archaeologist (an anthropologist who studies prehistoric people and their culture)

 Context examples 

This finding is the outcome of various research techniques conducted by experts from different fields including archaeology, sedimentology, geophysics, and hydrogeology.

(Researchers demonstrate that Sierra Nevada is home to the oldest underground water recharge system in Europe, University of Granada)

The team had published the results of their work in the Nature Astronomy, saying that their map will be “crucial” in further studies of the kinematics and archaeology of our galaxy.

(Scientists Say Milky Way Is Warped & Twisted Not Flat, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The researchers examined contemporary written sources, inscriptions, coinage, papyrus documents, pollen samples, plague genomes and mortuary archaeology.

(Justinianic plague not a landmark pandemic?, National Science Foundation)

Stephen Houston, professor of archaeology and anthropology at Brown University, told the BBC that the revelation of the sprawling Central American civilization was "breathtaking."

(Hidden Mayan Civilization Revealed in Guatemala Jungle, VOA)