Introduction to Archaeology

This brief lecture series is an introduction to the field of Archaeology – how it works and what are different involved methodologies. It starts with the discipline's origin and history, and specifically in India, talking about how Archaeology has unfolded from humanity's curiosity and an unyielding pursuit of the unknown. It is very interesting indeed to learn about how different personalities have made their contribution, which eventually shaped today’s known field of Archaeology.

The series later discusses different field methods through which various data are collected for conducting the studies. Each module has touched on the aspects of archaeological practices, offering insightful discussions on the methodologies and techniques generally employed by archaeologists. The multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of the archaeological field is vast and has many branches. Some of the general types of Archaeology and branches have also been discussed.

Archaeological excavations follows some common principles and are conducted with the collaboration of various experts. However, there can be many techniques through which a piece of land is excavated. The lecture series discusses different methods involved in the process of Excavation and what happens to the materials or artifacts found during the fieldwork.

The last part of the series deals with different dating techniques which are involved in Archaeological Chronological dating. It also enlists different methods used for different materials that are found during Archaeological excavations or explorations.