Archaeological science

Archaeological science consists of the application of scientific techniques to the analysis of archaeological materials and sites. It is related to methodologies of archaeology. Martinón-Torres and Killick distinguish 'scientific archaeology' (as an epistemology) from 'archaeological science' (the application of specific techniques to archaeological materials). Martinón-Torres and Killick claim that 'archaeological science' has promoted the development of high-level theory in archaeology. However, Smith rejects both concepts of archaeological science because neither emphasizes falsification or a search for causality. Marwick demonstrated that archaeologists' publication habits are more like social scientists than hard sciences such as physics. In the United Kingdom, the Natural and Environmental Research Council provides funding for archaeometry separate from the funding provided for archaeology.