The main course of archaeology

Archaeology can be divided into prehistoric archaeology, historical archaeology, field archaeology and various thematic archaeology according to the different age range, specific objects and means and methods used.

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.

Prehistoric archaeology and historical archaeology are both based on relics and relics, and they are the same. However, because historical archaeology must refer to literature records, and prehistoric archaeology has no literature records to be based on, the research tasks of the two are also different. Prehistoric archaeology undertakes all the responsibilities of studying human history in the pre-Ming era, and historical archaeology can cooperate with history to study the history of human society in the historical era.

Because prehistoric archaeology mainly studies the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age (sometimes including the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age), historical archaeology mainly studies the Bronze Age, especially the Iron Age, and their research methods are different in nature. As far as the relationship with other disciplines is concerned, prehistoric archaeology should be fully integrated with geology, paleontology, paleoanthropology and ethnology, while historical archaeology must be coordinated with history, and at the same time rely on ancient philology, inscriptions, ancient coins and ancient buildings. As far as the means of determining the absolute age is concerned, prehistoric archaeology depends to a great extent on the technology of physical science, chemistry and other natural sciences, while historical archaeology mainly depends on the study of literature records and chronology.

Field archaeology

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. Since then, field archaeology around the world has turned to excavation as the center, with the scope and scope of investigation constantly expanding, the methods gradually improving and the technology progressing rapidly. Various means of natural science have been adopted one after another, and many mechanical equipment have been used as tools for investigation and excavation. Using aerial photography and satellite photography, magnetic exploration and earth resistance exploration to find relics and relics, using special photography techniques such as infrared photography for measurement and mapping, sampling for pollen analysis and various physical and chemical dating, and on-site preservation of excavated relics. , have expanded and strengthened the technology of field archaeology working face. The objects of investigation and excavation have also expanded from ordinary residential sites and tombs to roads, bridges, ditches, canals, farmland, cities, ports, kiln groups, mines and other large-scale sites, so that archaeologists must cooperate with experts in various related disciplines to complete comprehensive research tasks.

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. It is natural to regard it as an important branch of archaeology. 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 are divided according to different research objects, such as art archaeology, religious archaeology, ancient monetarism, ancient philology, Ming literature, etc. Some are divided according to the different means and methods used, such as aviation archaeology and underwater archaeology.

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.

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, scrolls, symbols, etc. of all ages are the specific research objects of religious archaeology, some of which have certain artistic value, so the relationship between religious archaeology and artistic archaeology is also relatively 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. But as early as the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age, human beings had religious activities, and there were certain remains and relics. Therefore, the branch of religious archaeology should also be included in the field of prehistoric archaeology.

Archaeologists found more than 120 groups of ancient architectural relics in the ruins of the "Silver Ball City" castle in Ali, and unearthed a large number of pottery, stone tools, iron and bone carvings, indicating that it was once a prosperous settlement, and a large number of ancient tombs were also found here, which is very different from the funeral custom of advocating celestial burial in Tibet. The bronze double-sided statues unearthed here are completely different in style from those of modern Tibetan Buddhism ... All this shows that before the introduction of Indian Buddhism and the so-called official history of Tibet, there was a splendid civilization on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which was called "ancient elephant male civilization".

According to the exploration of archaeologists, the origin of Tibetan compatriots on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is very long and ancient, with a history of 13000 to 17000 years. Then everyone will think in unison about such a question: "Where is the origin of ancient Tibetan compatriot culture?" The answer is: in Cizancourt Yongzhong Buddhism! Long before Indian Buddhism was introduced into Tibet, this religion had been widely spread in the snowy plateau, and it was the most important spiritual belief of people in Xizang. Before the 7th century, all astronomers, educators, translators, doctors, fortune tellers, geomancers and literators in Xiangxiong, Tibet, could be called Benbo. At that time, all the cultures and religious beliefs on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau could be called this religion. "Benjiao" is actually not only a simple religious belief, but also the cultural system, philosophical thinking, civilized manners, folk customs, national spirit and social education of Tibetan compatriots.

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. By investigating the geographical distribution of unearthed ancient coins, we can also study the economic, trade and cultural exchanges in various regions of the world and provide clues for judging the traffic routes at that time. Because ancient money is the product of historical times, ancient money science belongs to the category of historical archaeology.

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. The latter is called "ancient typology" in countries that use pinyin letters. As far as the ancient Chinese characters that have been discovered at present are concerned, ancient Indian characters, Khitan characters and Mayan characters can be recognized, but they cannot be interpreted smoothly. The ancient Egyptian characters, Sumerian characters, Mycenae characters (linear character B) and Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang and Zhou Dynasties have all been interpreted in detail, which has played a great role in studying ancient Egyptian civilization, Sumerian civilization, Greek civilization in Mycenae era and Yin and Shang civilization in China. In addition, the study of inscriptions can also identify the age, producer, owner, location, use and manufacturing purpose of relics. Because inscriptions exist in relics and relics, their reliability greatly exceeds that of literature records, which can not only make up for the shortcomings of literature records, but also correct their mistakes sometimes. Therefore, ancient philology and epigraphy are of great significance to the study of primitive historical archaeology and historical archaeology.

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. At that time, archaeologists from Britain, France and Germany used aerial photos taken by the Air Force while reconnaissance of the terrain to explore historical sites on the ground. After the war, this work was further developed, especially the efforts of British archaeologists, which laid the foundation of aviation archaeology. Over the past decades, the technology of aviation archaeology has been continuously improved, especially the invention of satellites and the development of photography technology, which has greatly improved the effect of aviation archaeology. Cultural relics displayed and identified by aerial photography and space photography can be roughly divided into three categories. (1) Shown by shadows produced by oblique sunlight, such as dams, city walls and graves; (2) The soil color produced by pits, ditches, roads and other different soil qualities is bright and dark; (3) Judging from the difference in green depth of crops, weeds and other plants, such as villages, cities, farmland, roads, canals and other sites. In addition, remains that are not in the sea can sometimes be found by aerial photography; The discovery of two Phoenician seaports, Tyre and Sidon, which lasted until Roman times, is a famous example. Aviation archaeology has made great achievements and can be regarded as a new force in field archaeology.

Underwater archaeology

Underwater archaeology. The germination 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. However, due to the limitation of diving conditions, it is impossible to do detailed operations and records during the investigation. Diving lung was invented in 1943. After World War II, all kinds of equipment and conditions were improved, which enabled the establishment of real underwater archaeology. Starting from the 1960s, the French first excavated the sunken ships near Marseille, and then the American archaeological team excavated the sunken ships in the Greek-Roman era and the late bronze age near Turkey, which not only obtained many antiquities on board, but also provided important new materials for the study of ancient shipbuilding, navigation, maritime traffic and trade. 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. In addition to the main branches mentioned above, archaeology can be divided into European archaeology, Egyptian archaeology, China archaeology and Japanese archaeology according to different regions, while archaeology in different regions can be divided into classical archaeology (Greek and Roman archaeology), Shang and Zhou archaeology and many other branches according to different times.