archaeologist
Americannoun
-
archaeologists
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of archaeologist
Explanation
An archaeologist is a scientist who studies human history by digging up human remains and artifacts. Lucy, the oldest human known to man — nearly 3.2 million years old — was dug up in Ethiopia by archaeologist. We know about the history of the human species thanks to archaeologists who spend countless hours sifting through dirt and digging through ruins to find evidence of human life from across time. The word archaeologist can also be spelled archeologist. It comes from the Greek root archaeo-, for "ancient, primitive."
Vocabulary lists containing archaeologist
Play by the Rules: Arch
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Occupations
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The Origins of Civilization, Lessons 1–2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Among those searching for the Guerrero was Corey Malcom, an archaeologist who had worked for the treasure hunter Mel Fisher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
As an archaeologist specializing in desert sites, this was a singular experience.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
But when James Mellaart, a British archaeologist, stumbled on Çatalhöyük in 1952, it was only a “whopping great mound,” 60-feet high and covered in grass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Dr Karin Sowada, an archaeologist from Macquarie University, Australia, examined the amphorae after they were recovered.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
The latter were left to an archaeologist, Anna C. Roosevelt, then at the Field Museum.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
It was here that archaeologists unearthed the largest bronze statue ever found in Cambodia, "Reclining Vishnu", which is now touring the world.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026
What worries one of the archaeologists in the documentary and causes him to lose sleep is how similar our world is to that one.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Another important discovery followed in 2022, when archaeologists identified nearby burials of elite craftspeople accompanied by gold, silver, and bronze tools.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
For decades, many archaeologists linked the beginnings of organised warfare to farming, when people began living in permanent settlements and competing over land, livestock and food stores.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
For historians, anthropologists, and marine archaeologists, the most important use of side-scan sonar is in the location and excavation of shipwrecks.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
