what's the difference between an archaeologist and a historian?

Question

i am writing an essay and would love if you could be of some assistance

Answer 1

The former digs in the ground for his information, the latter just digs in books ! ! !

Answer 2

Historian deals with how things happened while Archaeologist deals with the artifacts of the past. Although, of course the two can be linked quite closely. A good example of this is TIME TEAM the archaeologist finds the foundations of the house and the historian tells you who lived there, what the house looked like etc.

Answer 3

The lines have become blurred over the past few years because both archaeology and history have expanded their boundaries. History was traditionally defined as the study of humanity's past through written records. Pre-history was the time before written records (obviously, history and pre-history were defined differently in different places). Archaeologists studied humanity's past through physical artifacts. Of course, historians and archaeologists needed each others' work to give a thorough analysis. Anymore, the distinction seems to be that archaeology is associated with the excavation and digging of sites, while history encompasses the more general study of what happened to humanity in the past.

Answer 4

Archaeologists look for physical evidence of how buildings were made, the strategy behind why something was built in that particular place etc and historians look for written records of what was going on there. To my mind you can't have one without the other if you want a complete interpretation of history.

Answer 5

The way I understand it, an archaeologist studies ancient cultures through their artifacts (i.e: by digging things up and looking at them), whereas a historian is a more general term for an expert in history.

Hope that helps a bit!

Answer 6

I'd say that an archaeologist is someone who goes to different places and digs up and finds stuff from the past.

While a historian just reads about it

Answer 7

Personally I've always thought that archaeologists looked for history like on their hands and knees, digging for it and stuff.

..and equally important, I think that historians analyze these things that are being discovered, finding the greater picture in how all of these historical things tie together.

Some people might say there's a big difference between the two, but I think they work hand in hand.

Answer 8

An archaeologist is a person who digs for fossils, human remains, and other stuff like ancient pots and then studies them. A historian is a person who studies history and writes on history.

Answer 9

An archaeologist goes to historical sites, restores them and tries to dig up artefacts and dinosaur bones. A historian knows about history and stuff.

Answer 10

Archaeologists tend to dig holes in the ground in the search for the remains of ancient civilisations.

Historians are usually involved in more modern areas of history which have been overlooked by others. For instance I an currently researching the Role played by Canada in WWII.

Ian M.

Answer 11

Historians paintings as a rule contained in the library. They do study in keeping with previous writings, books and documents and interviewing human beings. Archaeologists bypass the field and search for for artifacts and previous structures and dig them up carefully. Then they study and do study on their findings.