Why do artifacts allow archaeologists to reconstruct a culture?
An artifact by itself usually doesn’t tell us much. More importantly is the context in which that artifact was found and corresponding features. A proper documentation of artifact densities and sufficient survey allows the archaeologist to infer about where people were living, where communal areas were, what they were eating, and what their defenses were. We can learn about their subsistence strategies and community planning just by observing the layout of the artifacts over a large scale area. Artifacts can also tell us about trade routes by the raw material they are made of For example, if you find copper artifacts and copper is not native to that area, it must have been acquired elsewhere through trade. Burials and grave goods can sometimes tell us about political hierarchies and even kinship.
