Investigating the Past

1. Detectives Who Study the Past

Scholars who study human society are called social scientists. Many social scientists can help us study the past. Among these “history detectives” are archaeologists, historians, and geographers.

Archaeologists: Digging Up the Past

Archaeologists study the past by examining objects, or artifacts, that people have left behind. These artifacts are anything made or used by humans, such as clothing, tools, weapons, and coins. When archaeologists discover a place that has artifacts, they ask questions like these: Who lived in this place? When did they live here? What were they like? Then archaeologists study the artifacts for clues.

Archaeologists: Digging Up the Past

Archaeologists study the past by examining objects, or artifacts, that people have left behind. These artifacts are anything made or used by humans, such as clothing, tools, weapons, and coins. When archaeologists discover a place that has artifacts, they ask questions like these: Who lived in this place? When did they live here? What were they like? Then archaeologists study the artifacts for clues.

Historians: Recording the Past

Historians are the recorders of the past. Human beings have been around for such a long time that historians tend to focus mostly on the last few thousand years, when people began leaving written records. Historians want to answer this question: What happened in the past? To find out, they study all kinds of artifacts and documents. They read diaries and

letters. Besides asking what happened in the past, historians try to understand why events happened the way they did.

Geographers: Mapping the Past

Geographers study the natural features of Earth, such as water, landforms, plants, and animals. They also look at human-made features, such as towns, roads, bridges, and dams. These scientists help us answer such questions as: Where did people live? How did they use their environment to survive? Geographers often create maps to show what they have learned.

Social scientists who study prehistoric history face a unique challenge—a lack of evidence from this period. In fact, huge gaps of time have no evidence at all. Therefore, scientists may come up with different answers or theories about how

humans came to be.

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