What is Archaeology?

The word Archaeology is derived from the Greek Arkhaios or Arkhe which means ‘ancient’ or ‘beginning’, and logia meaning ‘the study of’.  Hence archaeology is the study of the human past – our predecessors or ancestors’ daily activities, fashion trends, beliefs, and values. On a larger dimension archaeology studies the collective past of societies, exploring trade networks, relationships between groups and communities, industries and resource extraction, the environment, settlement growth, and even warfare. Archaeologists investigate this past by finding patterns in the material culture remains and interpreting them.

Through the recovery of the artifacts, ecofacts, features and structures, past usage of sites and their socio-political or socio-economic relationships may be discerned. Archaeology involves controlled excavation and systematic recovery of data, and does not limit itself to the study of just objects.  Information relevant to the analysis also comes from the investigation of soil deposition, sediments, stratigraphy and the environment – which provide important clues that help to contextualize and interpret a site.

It may come as a surprise to many, but archaeologists have been quietly excavating in Singapore for the last three decades, investigating the activities and life of the early settlers on the island.  Since 1984 when the first academic archaeological exploration occurred, over thirty sites have been investigated. The early decades of archaeology in the country were ad-hoc and sporadic and typically led by expatriates or foreigners. As of 2006, a Singaporean team had been at the forefront of conducting all major field investigations, surveys, impact assessments, and rescue excavations in the country.

Archaeology is the only discipline able to provide a glimpse of the past where records and documents are scarce or do not exist, which is especially relevant to the study of pre-modern and early colonial Singapore. But archaeology is not limited to the distant and ancient past. Increasingly, the more recent past such as Second World War military fortifications, and remains of 1970s village settlements are being investigated. In part, this is due to the feverish pace of development and construction in a highly urbanized country, resulting in large-scale obliteration of sites, and hence the impetus to study as many sites as possible.