archaeological evidence
Dig site findings
Archaeological evidence is physical material from the past—artifacts, structures, human remains, environmental traces—that reveals information about earlier peoples and cultures.
It includes objects like pottery and tools, but also soil layers, pollen samples, and settlement patterns.
Unlike written records, archaeological evidence requires interpretation through excavation and analysis: The archaeological evidence suggests the site was abandoned around 1200 CE.
- potteryFired clay objects
- ancient artifactsObjects from past civilizations
- toolsDevices for doing work
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- radiocarbon datingDetermining age via isotope decay
ruins · excavation site · stone · sediment layers · dendrochronology · midden · geological strata · soil samples · paleobotany · fossil record · seriation · thermoluminescence · assemblage · tombs · carbon-14 · coin · fragments · dig
- Bible scholarshipredaction criticism, historical criticism, Pentateuch, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament
- African historyNubia, Dahomey, Oyo Empire, Scramble for Africa, scramble for Africa
- biblical criticismredaction criticism, textual analysis, historical criticism, literary analysis, literary forms
- First AmericansPaleo-Indians, Beringia, ice age migration, migration routes, migration waves
archaeological evidencewritten records
Documented accounts preserved textually
documentary evidence · historical documents · archival records · textual evidence · manuscripts
archaeological evidenceoral tradition
Culture passed by speech
oral history · eyewitness testimony · folk memory · firsthand accounts · hearsay
archaeological evidencespeculation
Unproven theorizing or risky investment
conjecture · myth · legend · folklore · tradition