How do acheologists find a site?

Answer 1

When an archaeologist is deciding upon a site, he (or she) will often begin by asking whether anyone else has done research in that area. This previous research could show if there are known sites already which could be useful. It also helps to check with a National Register of sites for the country in which the archaeologist is working. This can often involve looking at old maps or other documents, both historical and modern. Ethnographic accounts (native documents from the region) are also a key source of information. Moreover, many archaeologists will travel to the region they are looking to research and talk to the locals, since they may have knowledge unavailable on a wider scale. Sometimes however it all comes down to chance discovery.Another question to ask is whether anyone has worked out a basic chronology for the site to get a sense of what could possibly be there. Most importantly, the archaeologist must know what question he/she is researching. This question will define the scale of analysis for the researcher as well as what specifics the archaeologist will be looking for in a particular site. In essence, the site which the archaeologist seeks to find is one which will help answer his or her research question.