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Why can archaeology study societies that left no written records?

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Archaeology Archaeologists mapping their finds at Pachacamac, Peru, an Indigenous town occupied from approximately 200 bce to 1532 ce, when it was sacked by conquistadors under the command of Francisco Pizarro.

Archaeology can study societies that left no written records because it focuses on the scientific analysis of material remains rather than relying solely on textual evidence. While historians typically concentrate on written documents, archaeologists examine the physical objects—such as tools, architecture, art, and discarded items—that people made, used, and left behind.12

By systematically documenting and analyzing these artifacts, archaeologists reconstruct the lives of preliterate or nonliterate societies. This process involves several key approaches:2

Contextual Analysis: Archaeologists study artifacts within their environmental and stratigraphic contexts, often collaborating with specialists like botanists, geologists, and zoologists to understand the conditions in which these societies lived.123
Scientific Dating: Techniques such as radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, and potassium–argon dating allow researchers to establish absolute chronologies for sites that lack written records.4
Material Science: Through methods like petrological analysis, researchers can trace trade routes and the movement of resources, providing insights into the economy and social organization of ancient peoples.3

Ultimately, archaeology serves as a form of historical anthropology, using material evidence to interpret the sociocultural structures and long-term changes of past human communities.2