Archaeological sites as a historical source: historiographical overview

Abstract

As everyone knows, the material remains of the past are one of the most important sources of historical science. We also know that material monuments were not immediately included in the orbit of historical interests, and archaeology was recognized as a historical science – this science has gone a long and difficult way from the general evidence of the past and art history to an academic discipline with its source base, methodology and techniques, and other essential attributes of a full-fledged scientific structure. Many works have been written on the history of archaeology, archaeological thought, and archaeological research of various scales and character, where material sources are considered historical by default, or this issue is ignored and the concept of «archaeological source» is openly emphasized, which is clearly a reflection of separate trends in archaeology. And in the realities of the current day, there is an urgent need to revise the established views and points of view in understanding material evidence as a historical source, and it is more than obvious that it should begin with the historiography of the problem. This article examines the history of the perception and use of material evidence as a source for the past of humanity. To complete the general presentation, the article provides a detailed historiographical excursion that covers the period from antiquity to the present and examines the facts of intentional, indirect and contextual use of material remains in the reconstruction of the past.