What do archaeology and anthropology teach us about prehistoric humans?
Question:
What do archaeology and anthropology teach us about prehistoric humans?
Learning About the Past:
There are many ways to learn about the past. After writing was invented, diaries, books, and other types of written documentation became available for future generations to study. However, during prehistory, when there was no writing, other sources must be used to tell the story of the past.
Answer and Explanation: 1
Archaeology and anthropology can teach us a lot about prehistoric humans. Anthropologists can analyze bones, fossils, and footprints that have been trapped in time to bring to life what these humans looked like, give an idea of what sort of diet they probably had, examine their teeth in labs to find out where they came from originally, and measure their height and their brain casings to see what kind of changes took place in human development over the centuries.
Archaeologists can give us a glimpse into our prehistoric ancestors by studying the artifacts they left behind. Artifacts can be any number of things that tell us about how these early peoples lived, worshiped, what the environment was like that they lived in, what they ate, and what type of homes they lived in. Artifacts include things such as cave paintings, seeds and grains, stone dwellings, tools, weapons, fire-pits, and post-holes, beads, grave goods, statuary, carvings, and pots. Middens (waste piles) are also a great source of information; they often contain bones and shells from what people ate. This is just a small sampling of what archaeology and anthropology can teach us.
Learn more about this topic:
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Chapter 8 / Lesson 9What is archaeology? Learn the definition of archaeology, define an archaeologist, how archaeology is part of anthropology, and the focus and range of archaeology.