Archaeology is the study of the past by looking for the remains and artifacts (historical things) left by the people who lived long ago. These remains can include old coins, tools, buildings, and inscriptions. Archaeologists, the people who study archaeology, use these remains to understand how people lived.
Archaeologists think it is important to understand the past, because so many people use the past to know where they come from.
When archaeologists do fieldwork, they look for remains, often by digging deep in the ground. When things are found, or even when nothing is found, the results of the fieldwork are taken back to the place where the archaeologist's base is, maybe a university or museum. They record everything they found by writing down on paper or entering the information into a computer, so that they can build a picture of everything that is found. As settlements (places where people lived in groups) change and grow, old buildings are often buried to make space for new buildings. Ancient Rome, for example, is now up to 40 feet (12 meters) below the present city. This is why archaeological fieldwork is expensive and why it takes a long time.

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