Archaeological science consists of the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archaeological materials and sites. It is related to methodologies of archaeology. Martinón-Torres and Killick distinguish ‘scientific archaeology’ (as an epistemology) from ‘archaeological science’ (the application of specific techniques to archaeological materials).[1] Martinón-Torres and Killick claim that ‘archaeological science’ has promoted the development of high-level theory in archaeology. However, Smith rejects both concepts of archaeological science because neither emphasize falsification or a search for causality.[2]
environmental approaches which provide information on past landscapes, climates, flora, and fauna; as well as the diet, nutrition, health, and pathology of people
mathematical methods for data treatment (including computer-based methods)
Archaeological science has particular value when it can provide absolute dates for archaeological strata and artifacts. Some of the most important dating techniques include:
optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) — for absolutely dating and relatively profiling buried land-surfaces in vertical and horizontal stratigraphic sections, most often by measuring photons discharged from grains of quartz within sedimentary bodies (although this technique can also measure potassium feldspars, complications caused by internally induced dose-rates often favor the use of quartz-based analyzes in archaeological applications)
potassium-argon dating — for dating (for example) fossilized hominid remains by association with volcanic sediments (the fossils themselves are not directly dated)
Another important subdiscipline of archaeometry is the study of artifacts. Archaeometrists have used a variety of methods to analyze artifacts, either to determine more about their composition, or to determine their provenance. These techniques include:
Lead, strontium and oxygenisotope analysis can also test human remains to estimate the diets and even the birthplaces of a study's subjects.
Provenance analysis has the potential to determine the original source of the materials used, for example, to make a particular artifact. This can show how far the artifact has traveled and can indicate the existence of systems of exchange.[5]
Archaeometry has greatly influenced modern archaeology. Archaeologists can obtain significant additional data and information using these techniques, and archaeometry has the potential to revise the understanding of the past. For example, the "second radiocarbon revolution" significantly re-dated European prehistory in the 1960s, compared to the "first radiocarbon revolution" from 1949.
Archaeometry is an important tool in finding potential dig sites. The use of remote sensing has enabled archaeologists to identify many more archaeological sites than they could have otherwise. The use of aerial photography (including satellite imagery and Lidar) remains the most widespread remote-sensing technique. Ground-based geophysical surveys often help to identify and map archaeological features within identified sites.[6]
^Marcos Martinón-Torres and David Killick. Archaeological Theories and Archaeological Sciences in "The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory". Oxford University Press.
