How do archaeologists figure out what happened at a site?
The context of archaeological materials at a site is a crucial key to figuring out what happened at a site. Recording the spatial coordinates of stone tools, animal bones, and features such as hearths, provides some of the context. Other lines of evidence come from geological study of the sediments, detailed analyses of the stone tools and animal bones, and the application of dating techniques such as radiocarbon (14 C), thermoluminescence (TL), and electron spin resonance (ESR). (Read about dating techniques in the How section, Chapter 2.) In combination, the results of these specialized studies and the spatial information help show which materials are associated and they yield data about the types of animals used for food, the types of stone tools made and used at the site, and the day-to-day activities of the site’s inhabitants.
