Objectives

Geo-archaeology implies archaeological research using the methods and concepts of the earth sciences. The term is not synonymous with archaeological geology, and it is not necessarily linked to geology:

1. A fundamental distinction must be drawn between technique and goal. Earth-science methodologies contribute critical empirical information and conceptual approaches to an understanding of prehistorical context. Such contributions complement those provided by archaeobotany, zoo-archaeology, archaeometry, and spatial archaeology.

2. The distinction between geology and earth science is equally fundamental, because the geosciences comprise geography and pedology, as well as geology. Each provides component data essential to the study of environmental systems. The full array of these components includes a formidable list of subfields and composite approaches. Geophysics, geochemistry, stratigraphy, sedimentology, geomorphology, soils, hydrology, climatology, and spatial analysis are all relevant to geo-archaeology in varying degrees.

Inevitably, no one individual can master more than a few of the more useful techniques. But a competent geo-archaeologist should be able to evaluate diverse sources of empirical data, as generated within the archaeological project and as available from external sources, in order to apply the information to construct an integrated model of a geo-environmental system. Ideally, this model eventually will be linked with information on biota, demography, and material culture to generate a higher-order model of prehistorical settlement and subsistence patterning.

As a formal label, geo-archaeology is a relatively recent designation for an enterprise that has a long and distinguished tradition. Many early excavations were undertaken by earth scientists.