Palaeoarchaeology (or paleoarcheology) is the

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

deep time Deep time is a term introduced and applied by John McPhee to the concept of geologic time in his book ''Basin and Range'' (1981), parts of which originally appeared in the '' New Yorker'' magazine. The philosophical concept of geological time ...

. Paleoarchaeologists' studies focus on hominid fossils ranging from 15,000,000 to 10,000 years ago, and human evolution and the ways in which humans have adapted to the environment in the past few million years. Interest in the field of study began in the late 1850s and early 1860s, with a shift in interest caused by the discoveries made by

Boucher de Perthes Boucher may refer to: * Boucher (surname), a family name (including a list of people with that name) * Boucher Manufacturing Company, an American toy company *'' R. v. Boucher'', a 1951 Supreme Court of Canada decision that overturned a conviction ...

, after

Joseph Prestwich Sir Joseph Prestwich, FRS (12 March 1812 – 23 June 1896) was a British geologist and businessman, known as an expert on the Tertiary Period and for having confirmed the findings of Boucher de Perthes of ancient flint tools in the Somme vall ...

, Hugh Falconer, and John Evans had visited Boucher de Perthes's site in the Somme valley themselves. Two such archaeologists who had been attracted to join archaeological societies by palaeoarchaeology were

Augustus Pitt Rivers Lieutenant General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers (14 April 18274 May 1900) was an English officer in the British Army, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for innovations in archaeological methodology, and in the museum display ...

and

Edward Burnett Tylor Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (2 October 18322 January 1917) was an English anthropologist, and professor of anthropology. Tylor's ideas typify 19th-century cultural evolutionism. In his works ''Primitive Culture'' (1871) and ''Anthropology'' (1 ...

. Evans, Pitt Rivers, and John Lubbock all promoted interest in the field. In 1868, for example, they together organised, in conjunction with the annual general meeting in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chi ...

, the Third International Congress of Prehistoric Archaeology. The majority of paleoarchaeology sites are found in Southern and Eastern Africa. Some of the most productive sites have been those of Hadar, Sterkfontein, Kanapoi, and Olduvai Gorge. Paleoarchaeology deals with ancient human remains which presents difficulties in the field. Remains are often found incomplete. In addition, paleoarchaeologists often deal with remains that lie somewhere between their primate ancestors and modern humans. Similar finds can be rare so paleoarchaeologists must rely on the reanalysis of existing fossils. In addition to the traditional methods of archaeology and physical anthropology, linguistics, paleogenomics, geography and various fields of environmental studies are used to explore the questions in the field.

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Further reading