Archaeologists studying an archaeological site use seriation to :
determine the relative age of each layer of objects
Step-by-step explanation:
- The goal of archaeology is to understand how and why human behavior has changed over time.
- Archaeologists search for patterns in the evolution of significant cultural events such as the development of farming, the emergence of cities, or the collapse of major civilizations for clues of why these events occurred.
- Archaeologists use a statistical sampling method to select which squares or units they will excavate.
- They will collect surface artifacts, then remove any ground vegetation. Archaeologists screen all soil removed from a unit to recover small artifacts and ecofacts.
- Artifacts include tools, clothing, and decorations.
- Non-portable remains, such as pyramids or post-holes, are called features. Archaeologists use artifacts and features to learn how people lived in specific times and places.
- Archaeologists might study the million-year-old fossils of our earliest human ancestors in Africa.