Archaeology is the search for knowledge about historical human cultures, the way of life of early humankind, how people viewed the world, the interplay between humankind and the environment, material culture and other traces of early human culture.
Archaeology at Umeå University focuses on prehistoric and historical times in Europe and in Scandinavia. There are two special areas of interest: environmental archaeology and archaeological studies of northern regions. Field surveys, excavations, excursions and laboratory work are done as part of different research projects and as part of on-campus and web-based courses. The Laboratory of Environmental Archaeology allows archaeological problems to be studied in more depth through the employment of scientific methods.
Archaeology is about the history of humankind, both from the time when there were no written sources and in later times. Archaeologists study the meeting of and interplay between humans and between humans and nature but they are also interested in prehistoric times and its material cultures, the way people lived and viewed the world. Archaeologists also play an important role in social planning. Modern archaeological education and research is to a large part concerned with the meeting of past and present, and the significance of landscape for the people of prehistoric times. Archaeology is an interdisciplinary subject and we often cooperate with other subjects from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.
See current publications in archaeology and environmental archaeology.
See current research projects in archaeology and environmental archaeology.
Learn more about the seminar series and upcoming events (in Swedish).
A national resource focused at consultancy, research and development within environmental archaeology.
SEAD is a research infrastructure for archaeology and a standard database for environmental archaeology data.
