What kinds of things do archaeologists find?
• Artifacts, which are objects made and/or used by people Usually, only artifacts made of hard materials, such as stone, metal or glass, survive in the ground. Soft materials like wood, paper or cloth, tend to rot away. • Bones of animals that were killed and eaten Sometimes archaeologists find human bones, too, but modern archaeologists usually do not excavate human bones unless they are in danger of being destroyed. • Seeds left from plant foods The seeds that archaeologists find are usually those that were burned during cooking, which helps to preserve them. • Features, which are marks or stains in the soil. Some activities leave marks or stains in the soil. The wooden posts of a stockade rot away, but the rotted wood leaves dark stains in the soil that can be seen and identified by the archaeologist. Archaeologists typically find pieces of things, not whole objects. Some artifacts are broken at the time they are lost or discarded. Others are broken when they are in the ground, eith
