Archaeology is the study of human culture through material remains from humans in the past.

In the Old World, the methods used in recovering them and the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings in achieving the subject's goals.

Methods Archeological Sources Literary Sources Travelogues

In archaeology, an artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. Examples include stone tools such as projectile points, pottery vessels, metal objects such as buttons or guns, and items of personal adornment such as Jewellery and clothing. The study of these objects is an important part of the field of archaeology, although the degree to which they represent the social groupings that created them is a subject over which archaeological theoreticians argue.

A monument is a statue, building, or other edifice created to commemorate a person, event or as an artistic object. Monuments have been created for thousands of years, and they are often the most durable and famous symbols of ancient civilizations

Besides Cave Early man also used bones , animal skin,wood to make their shelters. The bones And wood can be dated my the method of carbon dating

A megalith is made of huge stones. They were put together by ancient people. Sometimes the stones look like a stone fort and sometimes they are just rocks that have been stood on end. Other megaliths look like big mounds of rocks, but those mounds have secret chambers inside of them!

Architecture forms one of the important sources of reconstructing the past . Historians study the architectural features like the structure and design of the building, the materials used, the patterns and motifs used for decoration etc. These features reflects on the life and times of the people who got them constructed

Dravidian architecture, was a style of architecture that emerged thousands of years ago in the Indian subcontinent.. The majority of the existing buildings are located in the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka. Various kingdoms and empires such as the Pallavas, Cholas, Chalukyas, and Hoysalas amongst the many others have made a substantial contribution to the evolution of Dravidian architecture through the ages.

Garbhagriha or Garbagriham is a Sanskrit word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, the inner most sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides an image of the primary deity. Literally the word means "womb chamber" from Sanskrit word garbha for womb. In the Dravida style, the garbhagriha took the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha. The entrance is highly decorated.

Temple architecture in the Hindu tradition is religious architecture connected to astronomy and sacred geometry. A basic Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, in which the image is housed, often with space for its circumambulation, a congregation hall, and possibly an antechamber and porch. At the turn of the first millennium CE two major types of temples existed, the northern or Nagara style and the southern or Dravida type of temple. They are distinguishable by the shape and decoration of their shikharas

Inscriptions are words or letters written, engraved, painted, or otherwise traced on a surface and can appear in contexts both small and monumental. Coin texts and monumental carvings on buildings are both included by historians as types of inscriptions. Study of inscriptions is Known as Epigraphy. Epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures.

The Private inscriptions forms a majority inscriptions. They are engraved on religious structures such as idols,temples,buildings etc.They throw light on aspects of society, art, religion.

The official records are in most cases either prashastis [Eulogies of kings written by their court poets or land lords] Important prashastis are Allahabad prashasti,Gwalior prashasti e.t.c.

The study of coins is called numismatics. Numismatics is the scientific study of currency and its history in all its varied forms. Next to inscriptions, coins form the most important source of history

The arrangement of sites into layers is called Statrification.It occurs due to sediments by rivers And wind. It helps to determine the age and the occupations of the people and the extent of their settlements. It is archaeological source of history.