Level 2 - Theme - What is Archaeology? - What Archaeology cannot tell us

Although archaeology is an invaluable method of finding out about the past, it cannot give us a complete picture of people's lives. Much of the evidence we need does not survive: perishable materials such as cloth, wood, food remains, and paper usually rot away.

Building materials are often removed and used elsewhere, and later layers of occupation may destroy evidence of earlier activity on a site.

It is not usually possible to say what ideas and beliefs were held by people in the prehistoric past. The individual roles of men and women, and social organisation and culture cannot be easily deduced from archaeological evidence. Evidence of important events, including battles, in the past is rarely found.

Where there is good documentary evidence, it is possible to make a much more complete interpretation of a site, and thus archaeologists and historians working together can significantly increase our knowledge and understanding of the past.

Despite the problems mentioned above, archaeology has enabled us to understand a great deal about those people who lived in the past.