archaeology

noun

ar·​chae·​ol·​o·​gy ˌär-kē-ˈä-lə-jē 

variants or archeology

1

: the scientific study of material remains (such as tools, pottery, jewelry, stone walls, and monuments) of past human life and activities

2

: remains of the culture of a people : antiquities

the archaeology of the Incas

archaeological

ˌär-kē-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

adjective

archaeologically

ˌär-kē-ə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

archaeologist

ˌär-kē-ˈä-lə-jist 

noun

Examples of archaeology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And Margaret Alice Murray—perhaps my favorite—built on her own excavation experience to create and teach most of the University College London archaeology curriculum, training students to go into the field. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 20 Dec. 2024

Travis Chai Andrade majored in anthropology and minored in archaeology at Princeton University. —Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

Innovations in weaponry, like daggers, suggest that interpersonal violence was occurring at the time in Early Bronze Age Britain, said Barry Molloy, an associate professor in the school of archaeology at University College Dublin. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 16 Dec. 2024

At the Smithsonian, Adler also served as curator of historic archaeology and historic religions from 1889 to 1898, librarian from 1892 to 1905 and assistant secretary from 1905 to 1908. —arkansasonline.com, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French archéologie, from Late Latin archaeologia antiquarian lore, from Greek archaiologia, from archaio- + -logia -logy

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing archaeology

• industrial archaeology

Kids Definition

archaeology

noun

ar·​chae·​ol·​o·​gy

variants or archeology

ˌär-kē-ˈäl-ə-jē 

: the science that deals with past human life as shown by fossil relics and the monuments and tools left by ancient peoples

archaeological

-kē-ə-ˈläj-i-kəl 

adjective

archaeologist

-kē-ˈäl-ə-jəst 

noun