My brother is an archaeologist. He studies human activity through historic materials.
That is cool! Don't Archaeologists look at fossils and things like that?
Not really, the study of fossils is palaeontology.
Oh get those mixed up! What about Anthropology? Is Archaeology related to that?
Yes, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology in North America.
Oh okay. So what kind of historic materials do they look at? Old stone tools and pottery?
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America archaeology is a sub-field of anthropology, while in Europe it is often viewed as either a discipline in its own right or a sub-field of other disciplines.
Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development
of those with doctorates are primarily employed in academia. Many of those without doctorates in academia tend to work exclusively as researchers and do not teach. Those in research-only positions are often not considered faculty. The median salary for anthropologists in 2015 was $62,220. Many anthropologists report an above average level of job satisfaction.
Although closely related and often grouped with archaeology, anthropologists and archaeologists perform differing roles, though archeology is considered a sub-discipline of anthropology. While both professions focus on the study of human culture