Portal:Archaeology

Topics Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology  History Ancient Egypt Ancient Germanic Culture Ancient Greece Ancient Japan Ancient Near East Ancient Rome Anglo-Saxon England Archaeology Austria-Hungary  British Empire Bulgarian Empire Byzantine Empire Classical Civilisation Colonialism Crusades Dacia Disasters German Empire Heraldry History of Canada  History of science Imperial China Indian independence movement Khitan Latter Day Saint movement Middle Ages Mughal Empire New France Ottoman Empire Russian Empire Sasanian Empire Seljuk Empire Soviet Union  War Archaeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis and presentation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, features, biofacts, and landscapes. The goals of archaeology vary, and there is debate as to what its aims and responsibilities are. Some goals include the documentation and explanation of the origins and development of human cultures, understanding culture history, chronicling cultural evolution, and studying human behavior and ecology, for both prehistoric and historical societies. Also, Archaeologists are concerned with the study of methods used in the discipline, and the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings underlying the questions archaeologists ask of the past. The tasks of surveying areas to find new sites, excavating sites to recover cultural remains, classification, analysis, and preservation are all important phases of the archaeological process. These are all important sources of information. Given the broad nature of the discipline, there is a great deal of cross-disciplinary research in archaeology. It draws upon anthropology, history, art history, classics, ethnology, geography, physics, information sciences, chemistry, statistics, paleoecology, paleontology, paleozoology, paleoethnobotany, paleobotany. Template:/box-footer The Tang Dynasty (June 18, 618–June 4, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 16, 690–March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right. The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), the most populous city in the world at the time, is regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to or surpassing that of the earlier Han Dynasty—as well as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, was greater than that of the Han period, and rivaled that of the later Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. The enormous Grand Canal of China, built during the previous Sui Dynasty, facilitated the rise of new urban settlements along its route as well as increased trade between mainland Chinese markets. The canal is to this day the longest in the world. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records stated that the population (by number of registered households) was about 50 million people. However, even when the central government was breaking down and unable to exact an accurate census of the population in the 9th century, it is estimated that the population in that century had grown to the size of about 80 million people. ...that the largest known metal vessel from antiquity is an elaborately decorated bronze volute krater discovered at the Vix Grave in Burgundy, France in 1953? ..that Heuneburg, an early Celtic settlement by the upper Danube, was already fortified with a massive ditch-and-bank enclosure by the Middle Bronze Age (15th to 12th century BC)? ...that Somapura Mahavihara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bangladesh, was one of the best known Buddhist viharas in South Asia since King Dharmapala erected it in the 8th century? ...that the gorge in China's Flaming Mountains, near the ruins of the once busy oasis city of Gaochang, was an important pass on the ancient trade route, the Silk Road, skirting the deadly Taklamakan Desert? ▼ Archaeology ► Archaeology by region ► Periods and stages in archaeology ► Archaeological sub-disciplines ► Archaeological cultures ► Archaeologists ► Archaeology awards ► Cultural heritage ► Methods in archaeology ► Archaeological organisations ► Pseudoarchaeology ► Archaeological sites ► Archaeological theory ► Treasure ► Archaeology stubs El Castillo is the nickname of a spectacular Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán. Built by the Maya civilization sometime between the 11th and 13th centuries AD, "El Castillo" served as a temple to the god Kukulcan (the Maya name for Quetzalcoatl). WikiProjects connected with archaeology: WikiProject Archaeology WikiProject History WikiProject Ancient Near East WikiProject Ancient Egypt WikiProject Mesoamerica WikiProject Aztec WikiProject Mythology WikiProject Science WikiProject Bible WikiProject Numismatics WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome WikiProject Norse history and culture WikiProject Anthropology History Classical Civilisation Egyptology Ancient Germanic culture History of science War Roman military Heraldry and vexillology Ancient Rome Byzantine Empire British Empire American Revolutionary War Middle Ages Crusades What are portals? List of portals Featured portals