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 Vasa was a warship that was built for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden from 1626 to 1628. The ship sank after sailing less than 1-nautical-mile (1.9 km) into her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. Vasa fell into obscurity after initial attempts at recovering her valuable cannons in the 17th century but was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbour. She was salvaged with a largely intact hull on April 24, 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and, as of 2007, has attracted more than 25 million visitors. Vasa was built top-heavy with insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. The impulsive move to set sail resulted from a combination of factors. King Gustavus Adolphus, who was abroad on the date of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see Vasa join the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War. At the same time, the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to discuss the ship's structural problems frankly or to have the maiden voyage postponed. An inquiry was organized by the privy council to find someone responsible for the disaster, but no sentences were handed out. During the 1961 recovery, thousands of artifacts and the remains of at least 15 people were found in and around the hull of the Vasa by marine archaeologists. ...that archaeological excavations near the Andries DuBois House in Wallkill, New York, found evidence that it was built half a century later than previously believed? ...that American archaeologist and flintknapper Errett Callahan produces and sells obsidian scalpels that are 100 times sharper than the traditional surgical scalpels made of steel? ...that the Assyrian King Sargon II deported more than 100,000 rebels from Babylon as punishment? ...that zaojing, an elaborately-ornamented wooden ceiling, shaped like a well and often painted with water plants, was believed by the ancient Chinese to prevent wooden buildings from burning? ▼ 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 Built on the Acropolis of Athens in the 5th century BCE as a temple to Athena, the Parthenon today stands in ruins. Much of the original marble that formed the roof now lies in a pile of rubble at its base, and half of the frieze is now displayed in the British Museum. Even so, it remains one of the most important surviving buildings of Classical Greece and a symbol of Athenian democracy 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