Unakoti

UNAKOTI:- 

                The term ' Unakoti' meaning one number less than 10 million or 1 crore. It's located in the Unakoti district, North-east Tripura. It's one of the most famous mysterious historical site. Numerous rock carving sculptures and stone idols of Hindu gods and goddess are present.

                  According to the theories led down by researchers, Unakoti was probably a sacred spot for local Tibeto-Burmese tribes and the tribes were probably belonged to Shaivism. 

                 There's many legends we can hear if we visit the place, some of the most popular legends are as follows-

             °  once Lord Shiva along with one crore (ten million) Gods and Goddesses including himself was travelling from Kailash to Kashi. On the way, they reached Raghunandan Hill at night. So they decided to take rest and shelter on this hill. Lord Shiva warns all Gods and Goddess to arise before sunrise of the next day morning and proceed for the journey to Kashi. Unfortunately, none of them except Lord Shiva himself could get up early in the morning. The angry Shiva left alone on the way to Kashi and cursed all sleeping Gods & Goddess to become stone and stay there forever. As a result, we have one less than a crore stone sculptures on the Hill, and it is called Unakoti.     

              ° The local sculptor Kalu Kamar had a dream, if he can create ten million sculptures of Gods and Goddesses in one night, this place will be considered with equal status of Kashidham. Efficient sculptor Kalu Kamar in order to please Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati worked hard throughout the night to complete the task. It was just one short of a crore image of deities and the sculptor wished to create the last one for his own sculpture, rather than another god, where the artist and creation of the artist will get same importance in future. But the artist's self-conceit might not have been loved by the absolute creator. Therefore, the idol of the last deity left behind, and similarly Unakoti had no achieve its status as Kashidham — the locals say, on why not to give in to ahankara, or pride.

              ° According to another belief, a local sculptor & potter named Kalu Kamar was a devotee of Goddess Parvati who wishes to accompany Shiva and Parvati to their abode on Kailash. After acknowledging by Parvati, Lord Shiva agreed with a condition, if Kalu Kamar would sculpt a Koti images of Shiva idols in one night, then he will fulfill Kalu Kamars' wish. Kalu Kamar had worked tirelessly to complete the task, but unfortunately, he sculpted one less than a Koti idols before sunrise. So, Kalu Kamar leaves behind and the place named Unakoti, a Shaiva pilgrimage destination in Tripura.


            The major Hindu festivals celebrated at Unakoti is the 'Ashokastami' festival. This festival, which takes place between March and April each year, celebrates the victory of Rama over the evil king of Lanka, Ravana. The Ashokastami festival today is a re-enactment of this victory.
            
          According to the Archaeological Survey of India, there are still reliefs and statues in the jungle yet to be discovered. 
Unakoti might be added into the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.       

               According to the local peoples sculptures of Unakoti got destroyed due to massive earthquake. From all the sculpture 30 feet high carving of Shiva, known as "Unakotishwar Kal Bhairav" is the most famous.


          

wet mummy of china

THE SECRET OF DIVA MUMMY :-

                           
                         China represents one of the world's oldest civilization. When ever we talk about mummies we can only visualize Egyptian mummies....their preservation procedures...the after life theory.....but discoveries have proved that Asia or more specifically China is more successful in preservation of dead bodies with flesh and internal organs intact.
                         Here I wll be talking about most mysterious and astonishing discovery of China in 1971.
                                 
                                 

@thesun.co.uk

                         Construction work was going on in a hill named as Mawangdui, in changsha, Human, eastern China. They workers who were digging realized that they might have found something significant , thus they called the archaeologists of the Taizhou Museum to excavate the area . They found a tomb, inside it there was a three layered pine box coffin. On opening the main coffin, archaeologists were astonished to found a female body wrapped around with 20 layers of silk or linen, submerged into 21 gallon brown coloured liquid. Archaeologists didnot know whether the brown coloured liquid was used intentionally in order to preserve or accumulation of groundwater. Later chemical analysis revealed that the composition of the liquid is slightly acidic and contains traces of magnesium in it . The tomb was made air tight as well as water tight by sealing it with an additional 3 feet of layers of charcoal and clay. The woman was believed to have lived during the Ming dynasty and identified as Xin Zhui also known as Lady Dai. She was the wife of a powerful Lord or official named Li Chang or the Marcus of Die.

                               

@the Sun.co.UK

                             @ancient -origin.net

@pinterest.com

@ancient-origin.net

                            In 1972 , Chinese pathologist Paula Long Chung conducted the autopsy of the body. The body was so well preserved that it can be dissected like any other modern corpses. The lady was fully dressed with traditional dress of Ming dynasty along with jewellery and a green coloured ring in finger. She was about 1.5 m long . Her skin was still soft and light yellow in colour, flesh was also soft and elastic, her hands and limbs can be bend , hair was also present as it is ......hairs of head was held in a place with the help of a silver hair pin. Her brain was half the present size but was fully intact, all her internal organs still remained in place and red blood ( A type) was present in her vains. Blood clot in her vains revealed her cause of death was heart attack. Pathologist even found 138 undigested melon seeds in her stomach and intestine which was probably eaten a hour before she died. A coin was placed in her chest, which according to Timothy Brooke (historian) was placed on the body as a kind of charm.

                            Her tomb consists of more than 1000 artefacts, of which 2/3 consists of food and drink, sealed bamboo baskets, writing relics in ancient script, 100 silk garments, 182 pieces of Lacquer ware...largest number ever found, and 162 carved wooden figurines representing servants in her tomb.

                           Presently her body is kept in Hunan Provincial Museum. Museum also displays a life sized reconstruction of her.

                             

@thesun.co.UK

                            The whole discovery and its preservation still remains a mystery.

Hoogly Imambara Architecture

              In plan every mosque or masjid is based on that of Mecca but Islamic architecture enriched itself by coming in contact with the local architectural styles and new features or style has been incorporated into it. It also represent decoration field. The mosque and tombs are based on muslim design while the details are based on local style.

               Mosque or masjid means a place of prostration. It consists of the sign , an open rectangular courtyard with a fountain in the centre.

               In Bengal, Islamic architecture reveals Hindu influence i.e. characteristic massive walls and convex roof adornes delicate Hindu patterns. Though they don't represent great artistic characteristics but they have sound constructive principles. 

HOOGLY IMAMBARA :-

              Hoogly Imambara was built by the shia sect of Muslims and was constructed by Hazi Mohammed Mohsin for 20 years, from 1841 to 1861. According to locals, Mir Keramat Ali built this Imambara with the help of money given or donated by Hazi Mohammed Mohsin. Here Muharram is the greatest festival.The Imambara is located at the right bank of the holy river ganga.
              

                                 3D image. ©Google earth
                          

                                            2D image ©Google earth

        

    The entrance of the mosque is curved with semicircular designs. From the entrance itself we can notice the large rectangular tank with fountain located in the center of large rectangular courtyard, which is followed by the actual prayer hall. 

     The entrance gate has two towers joined together. At the center two dials are present , each on both side. The tower is approximately measures 150 feet. Each tower has 200 steps, which runs in circular pattern. With the help of these we can reach to the top of the tower. Presently, on security and safety ground.....left tower has been dedicated to the female to female tourist while the right one kept for male tourist. The whole passage consists of small windows , gates, and elongated rectangular small opening. These were made either for ventilation or for accessing to other rooms. From the doors we can see large bells that are hanging from the ceiling. There's 3 large bells of varying weight and size. The smallest bell rings in every 15 minutes while the largest bell rings in every hour. The view from the tower is mesmerizing and quite breathtaking.
    
                        

                                                
                                                

            The left and right side of the courtyard has double storey structure with numerous rooms and corridor like balcony attached to it. Now students takes lesson there and an institution or educational center is running under the name of 'Hawza-E-Ilmia, Ahll-Bait (A.S) '.

                                          

             Interior of the main prayer hall is gracefully decorated with coloured glass lamps hanging from the roof and walls engraved with arabic writings.

                                           

            Imambara is decorated with curved iron flangs and glass lamps either hanging from the flangs or fixed on the concrete.
   
                                   

            As we move further.....and closer the river , a circular stone engraved dial is present. It shows time on the basis of the cycle of sunrises and sunset. 

                                      

            Behind the dial, back wall of the Imambara represent engraved inscription both in arabic and english along with beautiful floral motifs.
                                            

             The whole complex is surrounded by curved stone wall , which is now in ruined state. As a whole the ambience is very peaceful.

                 

                           All the pictures are clicked either by me or by my friend( SR) . Thanki for helping me out with pics.

            

Indo-Roman trade in Indian ocean

MARITIME TRADE IN INDIAN OCEAN:-

INDIAN OCEAN:-

                      Indian ocean covers 20% of the world's ocean surface. Indian subcontinent along with srilanka stands at the center of the Indian ocean. Indian ocean acted as bridge among diverse communities in south, southeast and west Asia, North and east Africa.
                   

                                                     

ROMAN MARITIME TRADE IN INDIAN OCEAN:-

                      Roman maritime trade was the first extensive contact between the European and Asian countries or ports. Indian markets supplied exotic and aromatic plants and spices like bard, bdellium, cestus, slows and pepper; textiles like silk, linen, and cotton; timbers like teak, ebony and sandalwood; and even tortoise shell and cinnamon. The traders from Egypt brought to South Asia, a range of goods but most frequently lead, tin, coral, glass, wine and largest number of Roman coins, both in gold and silver. Roman maritime trade in Indian ocean makes a neat arc from Alexandria to Mallacca, held together by Barygaza in western India, Sopara in western Deccan, Muziris on the Malabar coast and Kaveripattanam in the kaveri delta and their extensive delta. Using of Monsoon winds for such trade becomes more attractive. The gradual emergence of the Red sea as the trade route to the east dislodged the pre-eminence of the Arab Persian Gulf , as it avoided the hostile Parthians, required negotiation with Arab traders.But the Red sea route required protection against piracy. Mechanism of exchange was neither uniform nor universal. They included barter, gift-exchange, formalized trade and fetishised objects.
           
                                   

           
 

TEXTUAL EVIDENCE:-

                ● The Periplus :- ' The Periplus of The Erythraean Sea ' offers a contemporary and descriptive account of early Indian ocean trade. It tells about the direct sailing route from the Red sea to the Indian peninsula across the open was discovered by Hippalus in 1st c BC . Roman ships or vessels sailing to the distant East were named after Hippalus. Periplus reports that the proper time to leave Egypt for India ws in july and this allowed ships to sail through this region during the summer months. All the voyages are done with a favourable wind from may to october. The vessels departed from two points i.e. Cane and Guardafui, and headed to three directions, namely, Scythia, Barygaza, Limyrika. Periplus goes on mentioning and describing the Cape Comorin region. The Periplus also refers to the trade contacts between golden land 'Chryse' and India.

                                 

         
                                           

     ● Tamil Literature:- The Tamils viewed the Romans as exotic foreigners and referred to them as 'Yavanas'. Most of the Tamil references to 'Yavanas' appears in a collection of narrative poetry known as 'Sangam' literature which deals with heroic themes such as love and war. Romans are described as craftsman, visiting merchants arriving on extraordinary ships. One such mention reads: " The beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with gold and returned with pepper and Muziris resounded with the noise".    

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE:-

           ● About 7.5 kg black pepper has been identified in an Indian pottery vessel at Berenike.
            ● From Quseir and Berenik, a portion of pottery with internal wiping marks have been recovered. Ethnographic study revealed that, this technique was restricted to northern Kerala and has been unearthed from Pattanam.
            ● Cooking vessels along with black pepper and other finds recovered from the Egyptian ports.
            ● From Pattanam, roman glass and large quantities of Roman amhorae mostly of wine and sigillate have been recovered.

                             

                     ©Indianexpress.

NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE:-

                           Approximately 80 Roman coins finds documented in India. Scholars estimate that from Roman hoards recovered about 5400 were denarii and 800 were aurei, but larger disappeared.

                                 

                     ©Wikipedia

BUDDHIST INSCRIPTION:- 

                          Some interesting ancient inscription from India came from the Western Deccan . It mentions about the funds given to the monasteries by new converts to Buddhism who seem to have been merchants from the Roman Empire.

                     
                      According to Pliny, the oriental trade was draining the finances of Rome. But the impact of the trade varied in different parts of India.

Marine arcgaeology or Maritime Archaeology

                       

MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY:-

           
                 Marine Archaeology or Maritime Archaeology often referred as nautical or underwater archaeology. Ita mainly focuses on the relationship between man and water bodies and records activities that are reflected through the material remains. It concerns documentation, investigation and recovery of material remains and physical traces of maritime communities, technologies and practices.

                                

                                 
                    Maritime archaeology is defined as "the scientific study of material remains of man and his activities on the sea" (Mucklroy 1978). 
                      The main objective of maritime archaeology includes trade, commerce, exchange, water transport technology, seafaring, coastal settlement, ports and harbours. We must make a note of it that it doesn't includes the study of shipwreck or their construction technology or techniques. Marine Archaeologists survey maritime sites in order to gain information that have potential to reconstruct the victorious maritime history of humankind.

                   

                    

                                           
                                            Thanks to one of my friend from Cairo ( Sir Ahmed Lotfy ) to suggest me about writing on maritime archaeology....😊😊😊
Continued in next blogs...about maritime archaeology in India................

Relationship between Archaeology and other subjects

              There's confusion that lingers upon in mind regarding archaeology...whether it's a part of history ??......if it's not then it's about what..........is it a science or arts.....so much questions bubble up...

               But , the actual truth is....Archaeology is neither history nor science.....it's a subject where different fields are applied in order to get a desired result...it's a kind of amalgamation .

 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY:- 

               Archaeology often greatly helps in reconstructing history. In fact, it's the only source of the reconstruction of the human past in the prehistoric times. Archaeology is the part of history where it means the whole history of humankind from it's beginning over three million years ago. The study of past materials culture is the only significant source of information, if one sets aside physical anthropology, which focuses on our biological rather than cultural progress.
                Conventional historical sources begin only with the introduction of written records around 3000 BC in western Asia and much later more other parts of the world (not until 1788 AD in Australia, for example). Though we find ample number of written records for reconstruction of the historical period, they may not always present a full view of the past happenings. There would be a number of missing links in the history, which have to be reconstructed for a better understanding of the human past. Archaeology comes to risk of supplying information to fill these gaps. Archaeology also helps in correcting the information obtained through the written records. Most of the written records contain euological phrases which many a time proved to wrong. For example— most of the inscriptions describe a king as ' Maha Rajadhi Raja' , 'Raja Parmesvara' , 'Chakravartin' etc. Which an verification prove to be highly exaggerated. The commonly drawn distinction is between prehistory— the period before written records.
                  In some countries, 'prehistory' is now considered a patronizing and derogatory term which implies that written texts are more valuable than oral histories until the arrival of the western techniques of the recording information. Apart from helping in the reconstruction of political history, archaeology also helps greatly in studying social history, providing an insight into the common man and his way of life. Another advantage of the information obtained through archaeological means over written records is the authenticity of the information. 
                 The archaeological information is indisputable.
                  Thus, archaeology greatly helps in reconstructing the human past both of prehistoric and historic times.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY:

         Both archaeology and anthropology are connected with human beings, whether in the past or present. Anthropology at its broadest is the study of humanity— our physical characteristics as animals and our unique non-biological characteristics that we call 'culture'. Culture in the sense includes what the anthropologist Edward Taylor usually summarized in 1871 as " knowledge, beliefs, art , morals , law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by Mann as a member of society." While , archaeology is the past tense of cultural anthropology. Archaeologists study past societies primarily through their material remains— the buildings, tools, and other artifacts that constitute what is known as the materials culture left over from former societies. 

                 Large quantities of bones of human beings as well as of animals are found in the excavations. Anthropologists are always associated with the archaeological excavations to study the bones and assess the racial composition, age, sex, nature of death,etc. For example— a careful examination of the teeth at Mahurjhari in Vidarbha has revealed smoking habit of the people residing there some 2500 years ago. 

           All these results could be obtained only by the associating anthropologists in the study of material unearthed in archaeological excavations. The traditions which are observed by many communities today have their origins in the past. For example— In central India , on a particular day women worship rice shoots planted on a plaque of mud. A similar customs depicted on Indus valley seal which is more than 4000 years old , revealing the continuation of this custom from those days to the present period. In fact, a subject known as 'Ethnoatchaeology' has developed in recent years. There are many numerous other aspects which could be studied by archaeologists by associating anthropologist in the investigations .

  

Zooarchaeology

ZOOARCHAEOLOGY OR ARCHAEOZOOLOGY:-

    INTRODUCTION:-  

         Zooarchaeology define or refers to the study of animal remains excavated from any archaeological sites. The goal of zooarchaeology is to understand the relationship between humans and their environment, specifically between humans and animal population. Zooarchaeology course is characterized by it's broad , interdisciplinary character that adequately covers all aspects of the field. 

     ZOOARCHAEOLOGY AS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH:-  
           First critical examinations of these remains were not conducted until 1700. The anthropological or  historical orientation of archaeology is an important source of diversity in zooarchaeology . The greatest source of diversity lies in the multidisciplinary background. Zooarchaeologists may be a anthropologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, biological anthropologists, zoologist, ecologist, forensic biologists, veterinarian, etc. Each field brings different perspective, methods and research goals to study animal remains in archaeological sites.

      NAME:-  
            The term zooarchaeology was first or commonly used by researchers working in Eurasia and African countries, and it emphasizes the actual purpose or meaning of the term. The other term occasionally used is  'Osteoarchaeology'. Osteoarchaeology refers to the study of animal bone remains in archaeological sites and their contribution to the whole formation process. 

         INTERACTION  BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT:-

                    The primary purpose of zooarchaeology research is to learn about the interaction between humans and animals , and the consequences. One of the fundamental reason of their presence in the archaeological sites is their consumption in diet . Thus it helps zooarchaeologists to get a records of nutritional information. Some leaves ambiguous archaeological evidence.
                        Antlers or bones often acted as an implements for making tools or ornaments.......it often used for medicinal purposes in different parts of the world.
                         Animals are also used to understand the cultural attributes such as social affiliation and belief systems.
                         It also helps to predict or leads to many explanations...but there's hardly any or no evidence in archaeological records.

          ZOOARCHAEOLOGY ANSWERS MANY QUESTIONS:-  
             It helps us to get enlighten about diet, animal that were eaten, technology, behavior, past environment, climate, vegetation etc.

         TECHNIQUES:- 
                               ● Lab analysis, which is usually done by comparing the skeletal remains found in the site with already identified skeletal remain. 
                               ● Quantification, it interprets on the basis of number and size of the bones.

          REQUIREMENTS:-
                   ● Basic biological and ecological knowledge.
                   ● Strong foundation in skeletal biological and morphology.

Archaeobotany or paleoethnobotany

            I was a botany student in graduation.......but fortunately and unfortunately I took archaeology going both for and against my comfort zone........but I must say....am quite proud of my decision.....
            People ask me...... u were studying botany how come u suddenly thought of taking and/or changing ur subject into archaeology ......out of blue moon......but they don't know..... Archaeologists also uses botanical remains for reconstructing our beautiful and hectic past.
             So , in this blog...... I have tried to introduce the topic archaeobotany ......hope u enjoy😄😊

ARCHAEOBOTANY :-

        Archaeobotany or palaeoethnobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological sites, with the aim of understanding past human diet, food gathering and cultivation, an environmental change. The term encompasses both macroremains (seeds and wood or charcoal) and microremains( pollen and phytoliths) . Most archaeobotanists work on seeds remains, including in modern forensic science.
          Archaeobotany is a sub-specialization within environmental archaeology that studies human interaction with plants in the past. There are several approaches of recovering plant remains in archaeological contexts, from the collection of microscopic fossil pollen, starches and phytoliths to the recovery of macroscopic charred seeds and wood charcoal. If seeds are fired right they can preserve in the archaeological record for thousands even tens of thousands of years. Identification of seeds can help to assemble information on changes in agricultural production and plant consumption over time and over space. Plant remains can also help us to reconstruct ancient landscapes.
           

 ARCHAEOBOTANICAL RESEARCH HELPS IN:- 

          
             The study of the past human plants relationship and their changes over time. This includes studies on:-      

• Plant foods      
• Extractive strategies of plant foods and their changes overtime
• The craft uses of plants e.g. in construction, basket, textiles, clothing, medicine etc.
• Uses of plant for fuel.

 The effects of resource availability on settlement patterns. 
  The surrounding environment at the time of the formation of the deposit (i.e. occupation of the site) 
  Origin of agriculture and domestication.

 PRESERVATION:-

              Plant macro fossils are preserved through four main modes of preservation at archaeological sites. They are:-

• Plant remains usually cereal grains, charred seeds and charcoal are largely reduced to elemental carbon when they are heated in the reduced to elemental carbon when they are heated in the reducing atmosphere. These are referred to as 'charred' or 'carbonised' plant remains.
• Plant remains deposited in permanently waterlogged anoxic conditions are  preserved as the absence of oxygen prohibits microbial activity. This mode Of preservation occurs in deep archaeological features (fruit stones, nutshell, leaves, straws and other vegetative material) such as wells, lakes, rivers.
• Calcium-phosphate mineralization of plant remains (seeds of flavourings, fruit pips, fruit stones etc.) occurs usually in latrine pits , as plant remains are completely replaced by calcium-phosphate.
• Plant remains are preserved by desiccation in arid environments, where the absence of water limits decomposition. Delicate vegetative plant remains are preserved such as onion skin, and artichoke bructs, seeds of wild plants etc. 

RECOVERY METHODS:-

     

          Palaeoethnobotanists use a variety of methods to recover and identify plant remains. 

          Charred plant remains are usually recovered by flotation.

             

                      The matrix (soil from a suspected archaeological feature)

                                           +  agitated water

       

                                                             ↓

                      Soil, sand and other heavy materials sink to the bottom

                                                             ↓

                     Less dense organic material such as charred seeds, grains                          and charcoal tend to float to the surface and is poured into                        the sieve

                                                             ↓

                                          Organic materials gets dried out

                                                            ↓

                                Examined under low power microscope

                                                            ↓

                        Heavy materials are also gathered for later analysis.

        In waterlogged areas....Plant remains are first separated from the matrix by a combination of lueting-sieving and/or small scale flotation in laboratory.

        While, desiccated plant remains are usually recovered by dry sieving using a stack of different sieves to separate larger items such as cereal straw and fruit stones from smaller items such as weed seeds.

 IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION:-

            Identification of microscopic plant remains is usually carried out under steremicroscope, using morphological characteristics in the case of shape and surface features or microanatomy in case of charcoal.

           Macroscopic plant remains are quantified on the basis of a sample.

           Paleoethnobotanists also recover and analyze microremains (such as phytoliths and pollen) , human and animal excrements (corpolites) or plant impressions in ceramic sherd and clay (such as in daub).

             Palynology and dendrochronology are also useful for archaeological studies.

Archaeology ??!!

ARCHAEOLOGY :-

             Archaeology has been defined by many people in many different ways since the formal study began 150 years ago. This difference reflects the dynamic nature of the field. Archaeology is partly the discovery of the scientific analyst of the treasures of the past and partly the exercise of the creative imagination. Archaeology is both a physical activity out in the field and an intellectual pursuit in the study or laboratory.

              The word "Archaeology" derived from the Greek word "archios" meaning "ancient" and "logos" meaning "knowledge". Thus collectively it's referred to as "the study of antiquity" or "the science of ancient things". Archaeology takes every trace of human activity into account. More appropriately it can be defined as "the science of ancient remains".

              Thus according to Larry j. Zimmerman," Archaeology is the scientific study of people's of the past .........their culture and relationship with their environment. The purpose of archaeology is to understand how humans in the past interacted with their environment, and to preserve this history for present and future learning ".

                                                        OR

                   According to State Historical Society of South Dakota, " Archaeology is our way of reading that message and understanding how these people lived . Archaeologists take the clues left behind by the people of the past and, like detectives, work to reconstruct how long ago they lived, what they ate, what their tools and homes were like and what become of them".

SCOPE OF ARCHAEOLOGY :-

                 The main aim of archaeology is to aid to the reconstruction of human past, especially when written records are absent. Today archaeology is a broad church, encompassing numbers of different "archaeologies" . The chronological division in archaeology is accentuated by further subdivisions so that the archaeologists specialize in , say , the earliest periods (The old stone age or Paleolithic) or the later ones (The great civilizations of India , America and China ; Egyptology; the classical archaeology of Greece and Rome). Few archaeological fields that help us to know about the past are as follows:-

• ARCHAEOASTRONOMY : It is generally defined as the study of beliefs                                                   and practices concerning sky in the past,       particularly in the absence of written records, and to know about theirs understanding of  the sky was put. For example, Archaeoastronomy was progressing in a more productive direction among Mesoamericans and particularly Mayanists. The written data in the form of monumental inscriptions and documents ( 'Dresden Codex') showed the possible significance of astronomy and interpreting the meaning of such alignments.

• ARCHAEOGENETICS :  It's the study of human past mainly using the techniques of molecular genetics. It's also helping to resolve some of the problems in the origins and history of world Linguistic diversity. 

• COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY: It's the study of past ways of thought as inferred from the surviving material remains. It naturally falls into two sub-fields - one deals with the evolution of the cognitive capacities of our pre-sapients ( before Homo sapiens sapiens) ancestors, While other deals with the subsequent emergence within our species , notably development of writing independently in different parts of the world.
• ARCHAEOLOGY OF CULTURE AND RELIGION: It almost wholly deals with people's beliefs, both individual and collective and thus it is remarkably complex.
• ENVIOURNMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY: Field where archaeologists and specialists from other sciences study the human use of plants and animals and how past people adapted to the ever-changing environment.
• UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY: It demanding great courage as well as skills. In last 30 years it has become a highly scientific exercise, yielding time capsules from the past in the form of shipwrecks that shed light on ancient life on land as well as at sea.
• ETHNOATCHAEOLOGY:  It helps us to understand ancient lifestyle or societies by studying and creating parallel with the present day societies. It generally involves field work or the analysis of museum collections.
• EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY: It is the investigation of archaeological issues using experiments . As artifacts were identified and sorted into chronological sequences.
• FEMINIST ARCHAEOLOGY: It refers to an approach that uses feminist critique as the basis for archaeological work. It developed from the women's movement in the 1970's- 1980's together with gender archaeology.   

                          Many other fields of archaeology are there..Like Historical archaeology, Osteoarchaeology etc. Which have gained lots of interest in present day world . Thus archaeologists can be best described as 'Detective of The Past Cultures '.