Time Detectives

Today's archeologists are not treasure hunters but time detectives, utilizing advanced technology to vividly reconstruct the past from minute clues. With the focus in archeology shifting from the recovery of artifacts and antiquities to learning more about how our ancestors lived, archeologists now work in different ways. Frequently they are part of multidisciplinary teams of scientists who, for example, can reconstruct ancient diets from examination of bone collagen remains or describe millennia-old landscapes from fossilized seeds and grains. These new techniques enable us not only to…