Archaeologists try to learn who lived in the past, where they lived, what they ate, what they believed and the effect they had on their environment. Archaeologists learn this through looking at the physical remains left by people. Artefacts, such as pottery, tools, weapons and jewellery, help archaeologists create a picture of the past. Buildings, evidence of farming and plant remains are also useful for understanding how our ancestors lived.
Archaeologists only deal with the human past. Dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago and the earliest humans only begin to appear 2 million years ago, so archaeologists do not study dinosaurs. Instead, they look at how humans lived from the beginning of the human race up until the 21st century.
Archaeology Timeline
Archaeologists divide time into periods in order to make it easier to understand. Since the last Ice Age ended (about 10,200 years ago) the most important of these periods in Britain are:
- The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age began around 10,000 years ago
- The New Stone Age or Neolithic began around 6,000 years ago
- The Bronze Age began around 4,000 years ago
- The Iron Age began around 2,500 years ago
- Roman Britain began around 2,000 years ago
- Medieval began around 1,500 years ago
- Post-medieval began around 500 years ago
