Archaeology has a long history, but it only developed into a science in modern times. Modern archaeology originated in Europe and later spread to all countries in the world. Epigraphy since the Northern Song Dynasty is the predecessor of China archaeology, but it was not until the 1920s that modern archaeology based on field investigation and excavation appeared in China. As a modern science, archaeology has a complete and rigorous methodology. It includes prehistoric archaeology, historical archaeology and field archaeology, and is closely related to many disciplines in natural science, technical science and other disciplines in humanities and social sciences.
The branch of archaeology and its relationship with other disciplines
The branch of archaeology.
Archaeology can be divided into prehistoric archaeology, historical archaeology, field archaeology and various thematic archaeology according to the different age range, specific objects and means and methods used.
Prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology are divided from the scope of research, and archaeology can be divided into two branches: prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology. Some people also advocate that the original history archaeology should be added between the two and become three branches, but in practical sense, the original history archaeology is not as important as the first two.
The research scope of prehistoric archaeology is the human history before the appearance of characters, while the research scope of historical archaeology is limited to the human history after the literature records. The boundary between the two lies in the invention of words. Throughout the world, the invention of characters is early and late, so the age limit of prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology is different in different regions.
Prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology are both based on relics and relics, and they are the same. However, because historical archaeology must refer to literature records, and prehistoric archaeology has no literature records to be based on, the research tasks of the two are also different. Prehistoric archaeology undertakes all the responsibilities of studying human history in the pre-Ming era, and historical archaeology can cooperate with history to study the history of human society in the historical era.
Because prehistoric archaeology mainly studies the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age (sometimes including the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age), historical archaeology mainly studies the Bronze Age, especially the Iron Age, and their research methods are different in nature. As far as the relationship with other disciplines is concerned, prehistoric archaeology should be fully integrated with geology, paleontology, paleoanthropology and ethnology, while historical archaeology must be coordinated with history, and at the same time rely on ancient philology, inscriptions, ancient coins and ancient buildings. As far as the means of determining the absolute age is concerned, prehistoric archaeology depends to a great extent on the technology of physical science, chemistry and other natural sciences, while historical archaeology mainly depends on the study of literature records and chronology.
The name of field archaeology "field archaeology" was formally put forward in the early 20th century. However, field archaeology at that time mainly investigated the remains and relics on the ground, relying on maps to carry out investigations, and sometimes drawing maps as attachments to records according to the results of investigations. Since then, field archaeology around the world has turned to excavation as the center, with the scope and scope of investigation constantly expanding, the methods gradually improving and the technology progressing rapidly. Various means of natural science have been adopted one after another, and many mechanical equipment have been used as tools for investigation and excavation. Using aerial photography and satellite photography, magnetic exploration and earth resistance exploration to find relics and relics, using special photography techniques such as infrared photography for measurement and mapping, sampling for pollen analysis and various physical and chemical dating, and on-site preservation of excavated relics. , have expanded and strengthened the technology of field archaeology working face. The objects of investigation and excavation have also expanded from ordinary residential sites and tombs to roads, bridges, ditches, canals, farmland, cities, ports, kiln groups, mines and other large-scale sites, so that archaeologists must cooperate with experts in various related disciplines to complete comprehensive research tasks.
Archaeological research is a whole, and field investigation and excavation are closely related to indoor finishing research and cannot be completely separated. However, due to the complete methodology of investigation and excavation work and the use of many special instruments and equipment, natural scientific means are widely used, and field archaeology has its relative independence. It is natural to regard it as an important branch of archaeology.
As a branch of archaeology, special archaeology is distinguished from the main branches of archaeology such as prehistoric archaeology, historical archaeology and field archaeology by its name. Include various branches other than the above three branches. Some are divided according to different research objects, such as art archaeology, religious archaeology, ancient monetarism, ancient philology, Ming literature, etc. Some are divided according to the different means and methods used, such as aviation archaeology and underwater archaeology.
Archaeology and ancient art history often have the same information. Many research objects in the history of ancient art, from cave murals and rock paintings in the Paleolithic age to paintings, sculptures, statues, handicrafts, shrines, temples and cave temples in various eras, belong to relics and relics. Archaeological typology and chronology are also applicable to the study of ancient art history. However, as a branch of archaeology, art archaeology takes all kinds of art as physical specimens from the standpoint of historical science, and its research goal is to restore ancient social culture. This is different from the principle that art historians study various works of art from the aesthetic concept as ideology. Because the research object of art archaeology has been traced back to all historical times from the Paleolithic Age, it belongs to both prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology. Moreover, because all kinds of works of art as relics and relics are mostly found in field investigation and excavation, the relationship between art archaeology and field archaeology is also quite close.
Religious archaeology is a branch of archaeology, which studies religious relics and relics. In ancient times, religious beliefs existed widely in human society. Therefore, when studying the history of human society, religious activities must also be regarded as an important aspect. Temples, temples, altars, sacrificial utensils, statues, murals, scrolls, symbols, etc. of all ages are the specific research objects of religious archaeology, some of which have certain artistic value, so the relationship between religious archaeology and artistic archaeology is also relatively close. Among religious archaeology, Christian archaeology in Europe, Islamic archaeology in North Africa, West Asia and Central Asia, and Buddhist archaeology in South Asia and East Asia are the most important, all of which belong to the field of historical archaeology. But as early as the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age, human beings had religious activities, and there were certain remains and relics. Therefore, the branch of religious archaeology should also be included in the field of prehistoric archaeology.
Archaeology with ancient money as the research object is called ancient money science. Because the casting age of ancient coins is clear, it has become one of the most common basis for archaeological dating. However, as a branch of archaeology, the study of ancient money has a broader and more important significance. The goal of the study of ancient coins is not only to judge the casting age of various ancient coins, but also to find out their distributors and distribution locations, determine their values, study the significance and style of inscriptions and patterns, and provide materials for the study of economic history, cultural history and even art history through the investigation of their shapes, materials, weights, inscriptions, patterns and casting techniques. By investigating the geographical distribution of unearthed ancient coins, we can also study the economic, trade and cultural exchanges in various regions of the world and provide clues for judging the traffic routes at that time. Because ancient money is the product of historical times, ancient money science belongs to the category of historical archaeology.
As a branch of archaeology, the research objects of ancient philology and epigraphy must be the characters carved or written on relics and relics, which are different from ordinary books and documents. Ruins and relics containing literary expressions can generally be divided into two categories. One kind is epitaph, stone tablet, seal, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bamboo slips, clay tablets, silk books, paper books and so on. , and words are the main content of artifacts; Another kind, such as memorial buildings, sculptures, paintings, coins, weights and measures, mirrors, tools, weapons and various containers, is in a subordinate position. The task of ancient philology and epigraphy is to identify the characters of inscriptions, explain the meaning of words and sentences, and distinguish the fonts of different times and regions. The latter is called "ancient typology" in countries that use pinyin letters. As far as the ancient Chinese characters that have been discovered at present are concerned, ancient Indian characters, Khitan characters and Mayan characters can be recognized, but they cannot be interpreted smoothly. The ancient Egyptian script, Sumerian script, Mycenae script (linear script B) and Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang and Zhou Dynasties have all been interpreted in detail, which has played a great role in studying ancient Egyptian civilization, Sumerian civilization, Greek civilization in Mycenae era and Shang and Yin civilization in China. In addition, the study of inscriptions can also identify the age, producer, owner, location, use and manufacturing purpose of relics. Because inscriptions exist in relics and relics, their reliability greatly exceeds that of literature records, which can not only make up for the shortcomings of literature records, but also correct their mistakes sometimes. Therefore, ancient philology and epigraphy are of great significance to the study of primitive historical archaeology and historical archaeology.
Aviation archaeology refers to the use of aircraft to shoot the ground from the air, and to judge the shape, type and distribution of relics and relics through observation and analysis of the obtained photos. Aviation archaeology began at the end of the First World War. At that time, archaeologists from Britain, France and Germany used aerial photos taken by the Air Force while reconnaissance of the terrain to explore historical sites on the ground. After the war, this work was further developed, especially the efforts of British archaeologists, which laid the foundation of aviation archaeology. Over the past decades, the technology of aviation archaeology has been continuously improved, especially the invention of satellites and the development of photography technology, which has greatly improved the effect of aviation archaeology. Cultural relics displayed and identified by aerial photography and space photography can be roughly divided into three categories. (1) Shown by shadows produced by oblique sunlight, such as dams, city walls and graves; (2) The soil color produced by pits, ditches, roads and other different soil qualities is bright and dark; (3) Judging from the difference in green depth of crops, weeds and other plants, such as villages, cities, farmland, roads, canals and other sites. In addition, remains that are not in the sea can sometimes be found by aerial photography; The discovery of two Phoenician seaports, Tyre and Sidon, which lasted until Roman times, is a famous example. Aviation archaeology has made great achievements and can be regarded as a new force in field archaeology.
The germination of underwater archaeology can be traced back to16th century, when Italians searched for sunken ships on the seabed. At the beginning of the 20th century, underwater archaeological investigations were carried out all over the world, the most famous of which were the search for victims and sacrifices in the "Holy Pool" of the Mayan cultural site in Itza, Chen Chi, Mexico, and the excavation of the Roman sunken ship full of ancient Greek artworks in the sea of the port of Mahdia, Tunisia. However, due to the limitation of diving conditions, it is impossible to do detailed operations and records during the investigation. Diving lung was invented in 1943. After World War II, all kinds of equipment and conditions were improved, which enabled the establishment of real underwater archaeology. Starting from the 1960s, the French first excavated the sunken ships near Marseille, and then the American archaeological team excavated the sunken ships in the Greek-Roman era and the late bronze age near Turkey, which not only obtained many antiquities on board, but also provided important new materials for the study of ancient shipbuilding, navigation, maritime traffic and trade. The objects of underwater archaeology have expanded from sunken objects and shipwrecks to sites submerged in lakes, oceans, cities and ports, and the means and methods of investigation, excavation and photographic recording have been greatly improved, which has made underwater archaeology achieve continuous results at an alarming rate. It can be considered that underwater archaeology is an extension of field archaeology in waters.
In addition to the main branches mentioned above, archaeology can be divided into European archaeology, Egyptian archaeology, China archaeology and Japanese archaeology according to different regions, while archaeology in different regions can be divided into classical archaeology (Greek and Roman archaeology), Shang and Zhou archaeology and many other branches according to different times.
The relationship between archaeology and other disciplines Archaeology is a very wide-ranging science, which is related to many other disciplines. Only with the support and help of these disciplines can we complete all kinds of research tasks.
Types of related disciplines Archaeological related disciplines can generally be divided into three aspects: natural science, engineering technology science and humanities and social science.
In terms of natural science, physical geography, geology, meteorology and ecology mainly help to study the geographical history and natural resources of the area where the site is located, and restore the natural environment at that time from all aspects. Biology (zoology and botany) and physical anthropology are mainly used to identify unearthed plant remains, animals and human bones and determine their ages. Physics and chemistry are applied to the exploration of relics, the analysis of composition and properties, and the dating.
In engineering science, architecture and civil engineering are applied to the excavation, survey and mapping of sites, as well as the restoration or protection of excavated sites. Mining, metallurgy, ceramics, dyeing and weaving are applied to the investigation of factory sites, mine sites, kiln sites and other relics, and the analysis and research of bronze, iron, ceramics, glassware and textiles. Shipbuilding is specially used for investigating, researching and excavating shipyard sites and ship cultural relics.
In the humanities and social sciences, ethnology, folklore, linguistics, human geography, sociology, religion, economics, politics and law are all information about their respective disciplines provided by studying and interpreting relics and relics. Art history and architectural history mainly study unearthed works of art and various architectural remains, and make judgments and explanations on their styles, styles, ages, architectural techniques and preservation. In addition to providing documentary explanations for excavated remains and relics to help judge their age, history also provides a large number of documentary materials and detailed explanations for ancient political organizations, social structures, economic systems and various issues involving spiritual culture, so as to make up for the shortcomings and defects of archaeology in these aspects.
Here are some examples of related disciplines, taking geology, botany, zoology and physical anthropology as examples to further illustrate their close relationship with archaeology.
The greatest contribution of geology to archaeological research is to comprehensively restore the natural environment of Quaternary. According to the study of Quaternary geology, it can be confirmed that the Pleistocene of early human life was an era of drastic climate changes on the earth. The high-latitude, middle-latitude and low-latitude mountains in the northern hemisphere all experienced large-scale glacier activities at that time. The expansion and retreat of glaciers led to cold glacial periods and warm interglacial periods. The alternation of the two periods led to a series of events, such as the drastic rise and fall of sea level, the shift of climate zone, the migration or extinction of animals and plants, which had a great impact on the evolution of early human physique, the development of culture and the change of living scope. Therefore, the research results of Quaternary geology have become an indispensable basis for paleolithic archaeological research. Geologically, according to the environmental changes such as the nature of fauna and the characteristics of sediments, the Pleistocene can be divided into three stages: early, middle and late, and the absolute age of each stage can be inferred. This laid the foundation for the division of paleolithic archaeology.
The application of geology in general archaeology is mainly the identification of rocks and minerals. A large number of stone tools in Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age, as well as many stone products in each era, including precious stones, semi-precious stones and other non-metallic minerals, can be identified by rock slicing and microscopy. This can not only confirm the properties of rocks and minerals, but also infer their sources.
Botany is widely used in archaeology. In general ruins and tombs, the most common plant remains are wood, fiber and seeds, the latter including grains, stones, melons and rapeseed. Through the identification of wood, we can understand the materials of various wood products, and then infer their manufacturing methods and effects. Through the identification of fibers, we can know the material of textiles, and then discuss the situation of agriculture and textile industry. Through the identification of seeds, we can understand the types of crops, and then demonstrate the development level of agriculture and the living conditions of residents.
The application of botany in archaeology is also fully manifested in the analysis and research of spore pollen. Spore pollen has the characteristics of small volume, light weight, solid texture, large output and easy flying, so it exists in a large number of strata in various sites and can be collected and analyzed. Through the identification of spore pollen, we can infer the species of plants at that time; By counting the number of spores and pollen, we can know the vegetation at that time. Because some plant species need a certain ecological environment, we can further infer the natural environment such as geography and climate at that time through the study of vegetation characteristics. For example, the discovery of pollen from aquatic plants such as water lilies shows that there were lakes and swamps nearby; The discovery of a large number of pollen from cold-tolerant trees such as spruce and fir shows that the local climate was cold and humid at that time. With the passage of time, the plant kingdom is always evolving from low level to high level and from simple to complex. Therefore, the discovery of different kinds and combinations of sporopollen in different strata is also helpful for archaeologists to divide and check the strata.
Prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology are closely related to zoology. The animal bones unearthed from Paleolithic sites are all wild animals. The characteristics, combination and replacement of fauna, as well as the statistics of the proportion of extinct species and surviving species in fauna, are helpful to determine the relative age of sites, divide strata and conduct comparative studies between sites. According to the characteristics and distribution of various ecological types in the fauna, combined with other relevant data, we can also analyze the living environment and climate conditions of human beings at that time.
In the Neolithic Age, livestock appeared all over the world. Therefore, the animal bones unearthed from various sites can be used as the most direct basis for studying the origin of livestock. The study of various primitive characteristics of domestic animals in the early Neolithic period is helpful to understand how human beings first recognized and transformed nature. Through the comparative study of animal bones unearthed from sites in different regions of the world, we can also understand the development and spread of various livestock breeding industries in this region, and then infer the economic and cultural exchange relations between regions.
In Neolithic sites, there are often a large number of animal bones; There are many remains of fish and shellfish in the ruins near the water. If they are all wild animals, it can be explained that the fishing and hunting economy still occupies an important position; If it is mainly livestock, it can be said that it has entered the stage of animal husbandry economy. If there are both wild animals and livestock, the ratio of the two can be used as a sign to judge which is more developed, hunting economy or animal husbandry economy. If the animal remains buried in the tomb and the aggregate used for bone products are not animals produced in this area, we can infer the communication and exchange relationship between local residents and foreign residents. The research on the remains of animals and livestock unearthed from tombs in different historical periods is also helpful to further understand the situation of agriculture and animal husbandry in each era.
The application of physical anthropology in archaeology includes not only prehistoric archaeology in Paleolithic and Neolithic Age, but also archaeology in various historical periods. Judging the age and sex of the deceased from the bones is one of the basic projects of physical anthropology research. The data of human bones identified by sex and age can be an important clue to explore the funeral customs, marriage system and social organization at that time. It is also of great significance to study the development and disintegration of primitive clan society in Neolithic archaeology. In addition, the identification of the gender and age of the tomb owner is also helpful to understand the division of labor and some special customs of the residents at that time. By analyzing the age distribution of the deceased in contemporary tombs, we can also observe the living conditions of the residents at that time from one side.
Because the appearance characteristics of human beings are closely related to the morphological structure of bones, ethnographic research can be carried out by observing ancient bones. Combining archaeological data and ancient documents, it is also an important subject of anthropological research to study the physical relationship between ancient nationalities. Although analyzing the ethnic types of residents in an ancient site does not mean solving their ethnic problems, ethnographic research on residents of a certain ethnic group can also provide clues for exploring the origin of ethnic groups. By studying the data of human bones in different times and regions, we can understand the physical evolution and distribution of ancient residents. According to the appearance of physical polymorphism in the same site, we can understand the problems about migration and expedition at that time. In addition, according to the study of bone pathology, we can also understand ancient diseases and environmental conditions.