The coolest thing about archaeology to me is the way that archaeologists use the remnants of the past to deduce the way that people lived even hundreds of thousands of years ago. The items recovered at a 300,000 year-old site in Schöningen, for example, show that the Hominins had not only coordinated group hunts but also were able to survive the conditions of the Ice Age in Europe without the ability to make or control fire. The traces of the past that archaeologists uncover can even show us a little of the lives of individuals. Some of my favorite archaeological finds are ancient prosthetics. By studying these assistive devices archaeologists can understand how these people moved, and you can see the care and creativity of the people that created the prosthetics. The oldest prothetic that has been recovered is a toe and partial foot from Egypt that dates before 600 BC, but there are many other examples.
Archaeologist, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board