What do you study in archaeology?

The main courses include: prehistoric archaeology, Neolithic; Archaeology in historical period, according to Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Qin and Han Dynasties, Three Kingdoms, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties; Field archaeology, archaeological mapping, archaeological photography, archaeological theories and methods, world archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology and so on.

Required reading is the corresponding title of the corresponding professional course.

Details of each course are as follows:

1, prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology

Archaeology can be divided into two branches: prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology. Some people also advocate that the original history archaeology should be added between the two and become three branches, but in practical sense, the original history archaeology is not as important as the first two.

The research scope of prehistoric archaeology is the human history before the appearance of characters, while the research scope of historical archaeology is limited to the human history after the literature records. The boundary between the two lies in the invention of words. Throughout the world, the invention of characters is early and late, so the age limit of prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology is different in different regions.

2. Field archaeology

Research scope-tombs

The name of "field archaeology" was formally put forward in the early 20th century. However, field archaeology at that time mainly investigated the remains and relics on the ground, relying on maps to carry out investigations, and sometimes drawing maps as attachments to records according to the results of investigations.

Archaeological research is a whole, and field investigation and excavation are closely related to indoor finishing research and cannot be completely separated. However, due to the complete methodology of investigation and excavation work and the use of many special instruments and equipment, natural scientific means are widely used, and field archaeology has its relative independence.

3. Special categories

As a branch of archaeology, special archaeology is distinguished from the main branches of archaeology such as prehistoric archaeology, historical archaeology and field archaeology by its name. Include various branches other than the above three branches. Some of them are divided according to different research objects, such as art archaeology, religious archaeology, ancient monetarism, ancient philology, Ming literature and so on.

4. Art archaeology

Archaeology and ancient art history often have the same information. Many research objects in the history of ancient art, from cave murals and rock paintings in the Paleolithic age to paintings, sculptures, statues, handicrafts, shrines, temples and cave temples in various eras, belong to relics and relics. Archaeological typology and chronology are also applicable to the study of ancient art history.

However, as a branch of archaeology, art archaeology takes all kinds of art as physical specimens from the standpoint of historical science, and its research goal is to restore ancient social culture. This is different from the principle that art historians study various works of art from the aesthetic concept as ideology.

Because the research object of art archaeology has been traced back to all historical times from the Paleolithic Age, it belongs to both prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology. Moreover, because all kinds of works of art as relics and relics are mostly found in field investigation and excavation, the relationship between art archaeology and field archaeology is also quite close.

5. Religious archaeology

Religious archaeology. It is a branch of archaeology that studies religious relics and relics. In ancient times, religious beliefs existed widely in human society. Therefore, when studying the history of human society, religious activities must also be regarded as an important aspect. Temples, temples, altars, sacrificial utensils, statues, murals, scriptures, etc. in various eras are the specific research objects of religious archaeology.

Some of them have certain artistic value, so the relationship between religious archaeology and artistic archaeology is also close. Among religious archaeology, Christian archaeology in Europe, Islamic archaeology in North Africa, West Asia and Central Asia, and Buddhist archaeology in South Asia and East Asia are the most important, all of which belong to the field of historical archaeology.

6. Ancient currency archaeology

Archaeology with ancient money as the research object is called ancient money science. Because the casting age of ancient coins is clear, it has become one of the most common basis for archaeological dating. However, as a branch of archaeology, the study of ancient money has a broader and more important significance.

The research goal of ancient coins is not only to identify the casting age of various ancient coins, but also to determine their distributors and distribution locations, determine their value, study the significance and style of inscriptions and patterns, and provide materials for the study of economic history, cultural history and even art history through the investigation of their shapes, materials, weights, inscriptions, patterns and casting techniques.

7. Ancient philology and epigraphy

As a branch of archaeology, the research objects of ancient philology and epigraphy must be the characters carved or written on relics and relics, which are different from ordinary books and documents. Ruins and relics containing literary expressions can generally be divided into two categories.

One kind is epitaph, stone tablet, seal, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bamboo slips, clay tablets, silk books, paper books and so on. , and words are the main content of artifacts; Another kind, such as memorial buildings, sculptures, paintings, coins, weights and measures, mirrors, tools, weapons and various containers, is in a subordinate position.

The task of ancient philology and epigraphy is to identify the characters of inscriptions, explain the meaning of words and sentences, and distinguish the fonts of different times and regions. In addition, the study of inscriptions can also identify the age, producer, owner, location, use and manufacturing purpose of relics. Ancient philology and epigraphy are of great significance to the study of primitive historical archaeology and historical archaeology.

8. Aviation Archaeology

Aviation archaeology. Refers to the use of aircraft to shoot the ground from the air, through the observation and analysis of the photos obtained, to determine the shape, type and distribution of relics and relics. Aviation archaeology began at the end of the First World War. Aviation archaeology has made great achievements and can be regarded as a new force in field archaeology.

9. Underwater archaeology

The germination of underwater archaeology can be traced back to16th century, when Italians searched for sunken ships on the seabed. At the beginning of the 20th century, underwater archaeological investigations were carried out all over the world, the most famous of which was to find the victims and sacrifices in the "Holy Pool" of the Mayan cultural site in Itza, Chen Chi, Mexico, and to excavate the Roman sunken ship full of ancient Greek artworks in the sea area of the port of Mahdia, Tunisia.

The objects of underwater archaeology have expanded from sunken objects and sunken ships to sites submerged in lakes, oceans, cities and ports, and the means and methods of investigation, excavation and photographic recording have been greatly improved, which has made underwater archaeology achieve continuous results at an alarming rate. It can be considered that underwater archaeology is an extension of field archaeology in waters.

Extended data:

Graduates should have the following knowledge and abilities:

1, master the basic principles of Marxism and the basic theories, knowledge, methods and skills of archaeology;

2. Be able to engage in field archaeological excavation, sorting out and compiling archaeological reports;

3. Master museum management skills;

4, master the basic methods and means of literature retrieval and information query;

5. Understand the most important theoretical frontiers and development trends of archaeology at home and abroad;

6 have the initial ability to engage in archaeological and historical research.