The Importance Of Archaeological Science

With the rapid increase in technological advances within the past few decades, we have seen a growth in advancements in knowledge and scientific technique, many of which can be applied to Archaeology, more specifically, Archaeological Science. Archaeological Science is the scientific application of processes to Archaeology. This allows the study of individual humans to have greater significance then technology would allow for previously, with much study having to remain generalised on past populations rather than individuals. The significance of scientific advancement within Archaeology is unquestionable. Exactly how has Archaeological science enhanced the study of individual people rather than past populations is a question that needs exploring.

Past populations refers to larger groups of people, study of individuals within these groups before scientific advancement could only show trends whereas now it is possible to look more in depth at one specific individual and how they lived personally rather than as a group. There are several case studies which show the extensive use of Archaeological Sciences and how it has enhanced this study of individuals. One such example is the case of King Richard III and his remains. To calculate whether or not the remains found were King Richard’s, analysis of the complete mitochondrial DNA was done, linking the remains with one of his current living relatives. This also allowed for certain phenotypes such as hair colour, eye colour and in the future potentially height to be uncovered. Another example is the Strontium found within a tooth that builds up over a lifetime which can track a person’s movements and lineage. From these case studies and the scientific methods used, it is clear that Archaeological Sciences has enhanced the study of individuals as we know more about the past now than we ever have done

As the understanding of the human bone structure increases it allows for Archaeologists to identify the types of occupations that the person had done whilst alive and can also give an indication as to their diet, health during life and potentially what caused them to die through Perimortem wounds. Despite the science being around for a while, as our understanding of the skeleton has improved and scientific methods with it, the accuracy of the results is higher. The ability to recreate a skeleton as a 3D model on a computer generated system means that you can try and identify what the person succumb to without disturbing the remains. The bone structure and potential damage, can indicate the job that that individual had during their life, same is true of