Captain Picard holding the tools of a 24th-century archaeologist
Archaeology was the branch of science, closely associated with the field of anthropology, that studied the distant past, particularly the history of humanoids and their cultures by the examination of recovered material evidence. Those who studied in this field were known as archaeologists.
Across the Milky Way Galaxy, over the course of billions of years, highly advanced civilizations have risen and then fallen into ruin, which meant that exoarchaeology, unlike archeology on any single planet, could often locate knowledge and technology far in advance of contemporary levels. This made interstellar archeology a potent means to advance scientific, technical and medical understanding. (TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?")
Archaeology was a course taught at Starfleet Academy. (TNG: "The Game")
The Rutians employed starships for missions of archaeology. (TNG: "Unification II")
Important archaeological digs on Qo'noS yielded some interest to Humans in the concept of what the death process is like for Klingons. (VOY: "Emanations")
An A&A officer was a position on Starfleet vessels in the 23rd century which specialized in archaeology, anthropology, and ancient civilizations. (TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais?")
In 1996, Chakotay, while pondering what he would do with his life if trapped in the past, believed he could become an archaeologist of note, as there were still many important finds to be found on Earth in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. (VOY: "Future's End, Part II")
Archaeology was an interest of both Jean-Luc Picard and Neral. (TNG: "The Chase"; DS9: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges")
The archaeology lab was one of multiple science laboratories on Galaxy-class starships. (TNG: "The Chase")
The Gorlan prayer stick was an artifact of no real importance to anyone, except for students of archaeology. (TNG: "Bloodlines")
According to Commander Tomalak, the Romulans were studying Nelvana III with orbital probes for archaeological research. (TNG: "The Defector")
Raymond Marr went on an archaeological dig in the mountains of Omicron Theta shortly before the planet was devastated by the Crystalline Entity. (TNG: "Silicon Avatar")
In 2365, Captain Donald Varley of the USS Yamato heard rumors of archaeological digs that made the Iconians seem more real. (TNG: "Contagion")
Later that year, Wesley Crusher bemoaned the fact that he would have to share a shuttlecraft with Jean-Luc Picard for six hours on the way to Starbase 515 and wondered what he would talk to him about. Ensign Sonya Gomez suggested archaeology. (TNG: "Samaritan Snare")
Kamala, while reading Jean-Luc Picard's mind in 2368, told him that she liked to stay informed on a wide variety of subjects. She once said, "One never knows when the subject might turn to Ventanan archaeology." (TNG: "The Perfect Mate")
In 2369, Captain Picard worked at an archaeological dig on Marlonia, where he took some cookware found at the site. (TNG: "Rascals")
Later that year, Picard wanted to talk to Doctor Mowray at his archaeological site on Landris II, but he could not, as the USS Enterprise-D's Stellar cartography requested a communications blackout while performing an experiment. (TNG: "Lessons")
Jadzia Dax had a Premier Distinction in exoarchaeology. (DS9: "Dax")
According to a cut scene from TNG: "The Bonding", Marla Aster taught exoarchaeology on Earth before joining the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. [2]
The Daystrom Institute had its own dedicated Archaeological Council. (DS9: "Q-Less")
In 2370, Arctus Baran and his group of mercenaries robbed many archaeological sites of ancient artifacts that were Romulan in origin while searching for the Stone of Gol, a Vulcan weapon known to Picard as "one of the most devastating" weapons ever invented. (TNG: "Gambit, Part I", "Gambit, Part II")
Tagus III held one of the most important archaeological sites in the known galaxy. (TNG: "Qpid")
In 2373, Veer attempted to contact his and Forra Gegen's supporters at the Circle of Archeology to acquire a research vessel to track down the USS Voyager and confirm their "Distant Origin theory". (VOY: "Distant Origin")
Kathryn Janeway considered the fact that the Hirogen had built their communications network around a microsingularity was the kind of archaeological puzzle that had always fascinated her. (VOY: "Hunters")
In 2374, archaeologists on Bajor were in the process of excavating the ancient lost city of B'hala when they found something they thought Benjamin Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets, might want to see: a stone tablet, inscribed in Bajoran with the words "Welcome, Emissary." (DS9: "The Reckoning")
Later that year, Molly O'Brien fell into a time portal on Golana and was sent three hundred years into the past. Odo talked to the Bajoran Archaeological Institute to see what he could find out. His information discovered that the portal had been constructed by a civilization that had vanished 2,000 years before. (DS9: "Time's Orphan")
In an illusion B'Elanna Torres had in 2376 while she was near death, she envisioned that Chakotay came to her with a Klingon artifact lodged in the port nacelle of her Class 2 shuttle. He told her she might have found the most important archaeological find in Klingon history. (VOY: "Barge of the Dead")
The Federation sent archaeological expeditions to such planets as M-113, Exo III, Camus II, Kurl and Hanoran II. (TOS: "The Man Trap", "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", "Turnabout Intruder"; TNG: "Legacy", "The Chase"; Star Trek: Insurrection)
Archaeological research[]
- A-6 excavation team
- Federation Archaeology Council
- Federation Archaeological Survey
- Rutian archaeological vessel
External links[]
- Archaeology at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Archaeology at Wikipedia
- Xenoarchaeology at Wikipedia