archaeo-, archeo-, archae-, arche-, archa-, archi-, -arch
(Greek: original [first in time], beginning, first cause, origin, ancient, primitive, from the beginning; most basic)
2. Etymology: arc(hitecture) plus (ec)ology.
2. A subdiscipline of biology that integrates the concepts of human biology with those of anthropological archaeology.
In bioarchaeology, one might isolate and amplify DNA from very old bones; such as, from the frozen body of the 9,000-year-old "Ice Man" who was found in the Italian Alps.
2. The use of archaeological/archeological techniques and data to study living cultures; especially, current or recent aboriginal groups; such as, the Inuit or Bushmen.
The study of contemporary cultures with a view to understanding the behavioral relationships which underlie the production of material culture. It is the use of archaeological techniques and data to study these living cultures and the use of ethnographic data to inform the examination of the archaeological record.
It is a relatively new branch of the discipline, followed particularly in America. It seeks to compare the patterns recognized in the material culture from archaeological contexts with patterns yielded through the study of living societies.
The ethnoarchaeologist is particularly concerned with the manufacture, distribution, and use of artifacts, the remains of various processes that might be expected to survive, and the interpretation of archaeological material in the light of the ethnographic information.
Less materially oriented questions; such as, technological development, subsistence strategies, and social evolution are also compared in archaeology and ethnology under the general heading of ethnographic analogy.
It is an ecological approach to archaeology with the goal of understanding the physical context of archaeological remains and the emphasis on the interrelationships among cultural and land systems.
2. The archaeological study of the period and sites of the Industrial Revolution and later.
It involves the discovery, recording, and study of the material remains of past industrial activities, covering ways of making, transporting, and distributing products.
In the U.S., it has helped to create the industries of salvage archaeology or cultural resource management (in the U.K., it is called "rescue archaeology").
Related "time" units: aevum, evum; Calendars; chrono-; horo-; pre-; Quotes: Time; tempo-.