We will actually get involved and perform our own excavation. Then we will draw conclusions about the culture we unearth and see how this relates to the way we live today.

We first want to become acquainted with and understand the nature and goals of archaeology. Archaeology is a subdiscipline of anthropology. Archaeologists study humans. While one usually thinks of archaeologists studying the past, this is not necessarily true. Some archaeologists, including some at the University of Arizona, are studying today's "garbage" in an effort to understand our society. Perhaps the best way to begin our look at archaeology is to say that archaeologists study human behavior with a focus on human material culture. It is really what people throw away that is important. It is also important to think of the archaeological record as a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

Archaeology is perhaps best defined as the study of past ways of life. To pursue this study, archaeologists focus on the relationships between the material objects made by past peoples, on the other hand, and the makers' behavior, on the other. Archaeologists are not content simply to find objects. They explore, however, a wide range of questions about human behavior.

Remember that the reconstruction of behavior is the main goal of archaeology. Archaeologists study the material culture, the material things we use on a regular or irregular basis. Material culture can often tell us about ways people lived. The relationships between elements of this material culture provide the primary means by which to reconstruct patterns relating to behavior.

Look below and think about the two remains of someone's material culture. What kinds of things do you think about as you look at these?