The prehistoric and historic peoples of Iowa are all around us, and they speak to us in different ways. The most recent of our ancestors have left us their traditions and written histories, and we feel we know them very well. Ancient peoples, though, left us no written history. They are only shadows to us, dim and hard to understand. They have left us a message in the earth, though, in the remains and ruins of their homes, camps, workplaces, and towns.

Archaeology is our way of reading that message and understanding how these peoples 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 became of them.

Archaeologists learn these things from the study of what people have thrown out or left behind-stone tools such as arrowheads and scrapers, animal bones, seeds and charcoal, pottery, glassware, and old cans, for instance. Archaeologists also study more complex remains such as fire hearths, storage pits, earthlodges, rockshelters and root cellars.

Do archaeologists dig to find ancient treasure?

Archeologists dig to find out how ancient peoples lived. To do this, they look for clues such as stone tools, pottery, plants and animal bones.

Is it true archaeologists spend all of their time digging?

Archaeology is more than a dig. Archaeologists do not spend a lot of time digging. Instead, they spend a lot of time in the laboratory, analyzing and interpreting their finds.

How do archaeologists select a particular site to dig?

That depends on the reasons for the excavation. An archaeologist generally look for a site that matches a particular research interest. For example, someone interested in an Indian camp may look along the riverbed; while someone interested in late nineteenth-century history may select an old mining camp or a trash dump full of broken bottles and rusty cans.

The place that archaeologists dig is known as a site. It is any place where people have lived or worked in the past and left traces of their activity in the earth. To find a site, archaeologists must first look for one. The easiest way is to interview the people who live in the area. They are a great source of information. It is a rare farmer or rancher who hasn't picked up arrowheads or other items on his property.

The other method is to walk the landscape and keep a sharp eye out for the telltale signs of past human use. This might include bits of artifacts (flakes and tools, bone fragments, fire-cracked rock, pottery sherds, glass, nails) visible in the soil. If the soil has been plowed, searching is somewhat easier. Other traces include modifications to the land: stones laid in circles or lines, depressions, ridges, or mounds. Archaeologists call this a survey.

Once a site has been located, archaeologists record it on a form, measure and map its dimensions, and record other relevant information about it. The site receives a number and is entered into a state database. Each site has a number based on the state and county. This system was developed by the Smithsonian Institution in the 1940s.

Do archaeological studies always require digging?

Scientific archaeological studies include much more than the digging or excavation of ancient sites. Modern archaeology, in fact, frequently requires no excavation, but depends upon the study of existing collections and information reported in scientific publications. The decision to excavate can be based on many factors. Usually a particular problem - for example, when and why settled life began in an area - influences that decision. The reason for the excavation may also be to supplement or verify existing written records, which are often subject to omissions, biases or vagueness. In other cases, disturbance of the ground by highway construction may threaten sites with destruction. Such circumstances may mean that an excavation is needed, otherwise, information and artifacts could be lost forever.

Who owns the artifacts?

Professional archaeologists do not keep, buy, sell or trade any artifacts. By law, artifacts recovered from federal or state lands belong to the public, and must be taken care of on behalf of the public. Artifacts discovered on public land cannot be collected or excavated without a valid permit. Artifacts from private land are the property of the landowner. Collecting or excavating at these is trespassing and/or vandalism without the express permission of the owner. The only exception is human burials. These are protected by law in the entire state. No one may knowingly disturb a grave or excavate it without a permit.

The archaeologist digs in squares as part of an effort to control the progress of an excavation. Digging a site destroys it, so archaeologists are careful to keep good records of where they dig. The squares follow the reference grid for a site, allowing good horizontal and vertical control. It would also be possible to work in triangles, circles, or hexagons, but squares are the easiest to keep track of and map.

Do you have to go to college to be an archaeologist?

Yes. At least a bachelor's degree is necessary to get a full-time job as an archaeologist, and a master's or Ph.D. degree is necessary for most senior-level positions.

In the United States most archaeologists are trained in university programs of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of man in all times and in all places. Archeology is a sub-discipline that uses material remains to study people and cultures of the past.

Do archaeologists just dig up Indian things? Do they dig up dinosaurs?

No and no. It is a common misconception that archaeologists are only interested in Indian history. Archaeologists are interested in the human story through a study of the things they left behind. In North America, that involves both the Indian and the Euro-American cultures. In other parts of the world, archaeologists study the history of the people who lived there. As for dinosaurs, those studies are left in the capable hands of the paleontologists. Paleontologists study the fossils of extinct animals, including dinosaurs.

Is it okay to pick up artifacts whenever you see them?

Taking artifacts without using proper scientific methods destroys irreplaceable evidence from the past. Federal and state laws do not allow the removal of artifacts from public lands without a permit.