LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A window into our past. That’s what archaeology is all about.
At the Desert Research Institute, they study artifacts that have been found in Nevada, some dating back over a thousand years.
“We factored 12 to 15,000 years of human history in Nevada,” according to Jeffrey Wedding, a Research Archaeologist with DRI.
He says there are three main branches of archaeology, prehistoric, proto historic and historical.
“Prehistoric we are looking at cultures that didn’t have a written language, Protohistoric is when early written records are appearing and then there is historic where we have documented evidence from the time period,” he said.
Across Nevada there are dozens of historical sites including the Mormon Fort which was built in the mid-1800’s.
Wedding says there are still plenty of sites where you can find a piece of history.
He says if you find something, take a picture but leave it.
“Once it’s removed from the context of the environment, we can’t reconstruct the story.”
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