A: Archaeology is a part of the larger field of anthropology, which is divided into biological anthropology (such things as biological history, physical characteristics, disease, genetics), linguistics (language, evolution of language and relationships) and cultural anthropology (culture, what makes us what we are, exotic differences and subcultures). Archaeology is part of cultural anthropology.

Q: How can you tell how old something is?

A: Artifacts are dated by several methods. Relative dating finds the age of one item in relation to another. This may be done by stratigraphy — what is on top is younger than what is on the bottom — or cross-dating, comparing a similar artifact from one site to one from another site.

A more precise technique is known as absolute dating and includes tree-ring dating, which measures growth by counting tree rings, and radiocarbon dating.

Q: How does radiocarbon dating work?

A: All plants and animals on Earth are made up principally of carbon. A tiny part of the the carbon is called radiocarbon because it is "radioactive." It is also known as C-14. Radiocarbon dating measures the decay of C-14 in an organism. As an organism dies, the ratio of C-14 gradually decreases at a rate of one-half the quantity at death every 5,730 years. So by measuring the quantity of C-14 present, scientists come up with an age.

Charcoal, bone, perishable items, leather, twigs and wood can be dated this way.

Q: What can be learned from the study of ancient bones?

A: Ancient human bones can tell us volumes about the people themselves, including their age at death, perhaps what they died from, diseases and general state of health. New science into DNA may be able to tell us about population movements and the relationships between different groups.

Animal bones tell us about diet, butchering and how animals were processed for food. Animal bones from archaeological sites might also teach us about the season and the year the site was occupied and/or what the climate was like during the occupation.

Q: What can be learned from pieces of pottery?

A: Pottery has been used in Utah for about 2,500 years or so. It teaches us about the technology people used to make the pottery. It teaches us about trade (for example, pottery from one culture found at other sites) and helps us understand the artistic accomplishments of prehistoric people. Residue on pottery can also provide information on foods and how they were prepared.