From the parts to the whole : how written and non-written fragments can be a gateway to the past

Abstract

The word 'science' is normally taken to mean what is generally understood as the hard sciences, namely subjects like physics, biology, and chemistry. In reality there are two broad types of science: the one just mentioned, as well as that which deals with subjects that have the human person and his activities as their object of methodical and rigorous study. It is self evident that subjects like art, philosophy, and history fall under the latter category. Although nowadays archaeology cannot do without the aid of the hard sciences, still it essentially falls within the area of the 'human sciences' specifically functioning as a special form of history. Archaeology attempts to reconstruct the story of our ancestors on the basis of the material remains that it extracts from the earth or from the seabed. The problem is that the evidence is generally random and fragmentary and the crux of the problem lies in trying to come to terms with this state of affairs without giving up on reconstructing the story of our ancestors on the basis of their material remains that have been retrieved. If we keep in mind some basic points that characterize our human cognitional structure we can find a way forward.