Archaeology vis-à-vis microbiology: Discovering the vistas of interdisciplinary research

Abstract

The analysis of archaeological samples is very vital toward documentation and significance of archaeological remains and its interdisciplinary understanding. However, due to lack of integration between the two disciplines, i.e., archaeology and microbiology, it becomes very difficult to carry out a wholesome and scientifically supported research. Analysis of various samples like mummies, bones, organic archaeological remains, grave goods, etc., found at various archaeological sites has witnessed a new direction of analysis that has led to drastic changes in the formulation of understanding and theories. There are adequate records of such observations obtained from the analysis of samples from excavations and other archaeological remains and artifacts from different parts of the world. Our efforts should now concentrate on doing microbiological analysis of such rare archaeological samples and try to rationalize the need for such integration toward a better scientific and comprehensive approach.