Aims of Archaeology

Introduction

In this session we provide a clear overview of what we mean by archaeology: what it is and how archaeologists go about doing it. We also introduce you to the three main archaeological epochs found on Crete: Prehistoric, Graeco-Roman, and Mediaeval-Modern. Archaeologists try to answer basic questions about past societies, using different types of evidence. We will touch briefly on what these questions are and how archaeologists try to reconstruct the society and environment which they study.

Aims

By the end of this session, you will:

• Have a clear understanding of what archaeology is and how you go about doing it.
• Have an understanding of what questions archaeologists ask in their work.