How to Find Archaeological Site Information

(from the Association of College and Research Libraries Anthropology and Sociology Section)

To find materials on archaeological sites, you can do very specific searches using "subject headings," a label assigned to an item to describe its contents. Subject headings, created by the Library of Congress, follow a specific structure; you have to know the correct subject headings in order to use them. If you aren't sure which subject heading to use, start with a keyword or any field search, find an item that matches your need and look at the subject headings used in its record. You can also use any of the below terms and phrases in a keyword search if you are unsure of the proper structure or format of the subject heading.

Always look at the subject headings in successful results to further your search. You may need to try searching by multiple subject headings to find information on one topic. Subject headings below are just examples and are by no means comprehensive.

Sites

Archaeological sites are established individually as subject headings. The name of the site is the subject heading, so one should search the name of the site directly in a subject search. The subject heading is the name by which the site is best known, according to the literature. In many cases, this means that the site is established as it appears on the book that was catalogued. Any form of the name not chosen as the official name is listed as a cross-reference in the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Sites are typically listed as "[Name] Site ([place])." Some places, such as states, are abbreviated. If you are unsure of the abbreviation, do a keyword or any field search for the geographic location and check the subject headings that come up to find the appropriate abbreviation. Or you can just leave off the geographical name, as the search looks for anything starting with the words you enter. Some examples of subject headings are:

Spiro Site (Okla.)
Fengate Site (England)
Alberite Site (Spain)

Sites are not always listed using the above format. They may also be treated as cave, tel, ruin, mound, etc. Some examples are:

Amalda Cave (Spain)
Juntura Cave (Or.)
Akhziv, Tel (Israel)

Library of Congress also established some archaeological sties as "Extinct cities." An "extinct city" is any city, town, village, etc. that ceased to exist by the year 1500. The exception is cities of the Americas, which are established as archaeological sites rather than extinct cities. Some examples are:

Pompeii (extinct city)
Ebla (extinct city)
Xochicalco site (Mexico)

Geographic area and People

If you do not know the name of a particular site or are interested in the archaeology of a geographic area, you can use broader term subject headings to do your search. You can use country names for all areas except the United States, Great Britain and Canada, for which you must use states, constituent country or province, respectively. You may also be able to search by a particular group or culture. Some examples:

Italy -- Antiquities
Washington -- Antiquities
Ireland -- Antiquities
Ontario -- Antiquities
Indians of North America -- Antiquities
Incas
Peking Man

You can also use the subject heading "Excavation (Archaeology) -- [place]" when looking for information on actual digs. Or, use the term "Archaeology" when looking for material about archaeology as a branch of learning. Both headings may be subdivided geographically for works on this branch of learning in a specific place. For example:

Excavation (Archaeology) -- Spain -- Badalona
Archaeology -- California -- Yosemite National Park
Archaeology -- Mediterranean region

And you can search by geographic type such as:

Coastal archaeology -- Mexico
Urban archaeology -- Egypt

Material Type

You can also search by material or building type within a specific geographic area by searching for:

Plant remains (archaeology)
Human remains (archaeology)
Earthworks (archaeology)
Tools -- prehistoric

Concept or Issue

If you are not looking for a particular site and/or are researching archaeological concepts or issues, you can include words in your search that will help tailor your list of results. Tacking on "economic conditions," "social conditions," "politics and government," etc. will return results specific to those topics. Be sure to maintain the existing subject heading structure. For example:

Pompeii (Extinct City) -- politics and government
Italy -- social conditions
Incas -- economic conditions
Archaeology -- political aspects -- Israel
Human remains (archaeology) -- law and legislation
Cultural property -- repatriation -- United States

Return to top

Maintained by Barbara Jenkins, jenkins@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 01/22/2007