It is well-nigh impossible to guess as to when humankind began to get curious about their past and ancestry. Several ancient communities have, however, left enough evidence to show keen interest in their predecessors. The unearthing of such evidence was what led humankind to look for and gather ancient artefacts and interpret them. This interest, which was known in Europe as antiquarianism, was confined to the understanding and interpretation of such relics and memorabilia as simply antique objects. It was only in the 19th century that antiquarianism acquired the framework of a scientific discipline aimed at understanding and interpreting the development of human society. It was pioneering archaeologists like Flinders Petrie, Heinrich Schliemann and Pitt Rivers who transformed antiquarianism into a discipline that was useful for understanding the development of ancient societies rather than for mere treasure-hunting. Their contributions led to transforming antiquarianism into the discipline of archaeology.
The term archaeology is derived from the Greek word arkhaiologia, which denotes the study of ancient artefacts. But archaeology has now transformed from a mere study of ancient objects into a larger discipline that seeks to understand and interpret the history of humankind. And by the second half of the nineteenth century, the study of the ancient Orient had gained the status of an important independent discipline in archaeology. Classical and near-eastern studies and Egyptology had been introduced in undergraduate courses in British universities in the 19th century itself. But it became a special branch of study only after the end of the First World War.
