--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Were I asked to define it, I should reply…" description: "\"Were I asked to define it, I should reply that archeology is that science which enables us to register and classify our knowledge of the sum of man's a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/amelia-b-edwards-35864_achievement_were-i-asked-to-define-it-i-should-reply_2730309.jpg" --- # Were I asked to define it, I should reply that archeology… ![“Were I asked to define it, I should reply that archeology is that science which enables us to register and classify our knowledge of the sum of man's achievement in those arts and handicrafts whereby he has, in time past, signalized his passage from barbarism to civilization.” quote by Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/amelia-b-edwards-35864_achievement_were-i-asked-to-define-it-i-should-reply_2730309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/amelia-b-edwards-35864_achievement_were-i-asked-to-define-it-i-should-reply_2730309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/amelia-b-edwards-35864_achievement_were-i-asked-to-define-it-i-should-reply_2730309.jpg) > “Were I asked to define it, I should reply that archeology is that science which enables us to register and classify our knowledge of the sum of man's achievement in those arts and handicrafts whereby he has, in time past, signalized his passage from barbarism to civilization.” [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Archaeology is defined as the science that records and classifies humanity’s achievements, marking the transition from barbarism to civilization through arts and crafts. **In simple terms:** Archaeology tracks human progress from primitive to civilized. Key Takeaway Study past artifacts to understand cultural evolution. Themes history science civilization arts craftsmanship Mood analytical educational Type academic informative When to use this quote - museum work - academic research - heritage preservation Key Concepts chronology cultural development Questions to Reflect On - What does archaeology reveal about modern society? - How do we avoid presentism in interpreting artifacts? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be biased by present perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Archeology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archeology/) [Archeology Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archeology-science-2949100/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Barbarism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarism/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Classify Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classify-knowledge-2949101/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Digging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digging/) [Handicrafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handicrafts/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Passages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passages/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Register](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/register/) [Reply Archeology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reply-archeology-2949099/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-past/) ## Related quotes > [The small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify we give the name of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/the-small-part-of-ignorance-that-we-arrange-and-classify-we-give-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The science which teacheth arts and handicrafts is merely science for the gaining of a living; but the science which teacheth deliverance from worldly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/the-science-which-teacheth-arts-and-handicrafts-is-merely-science-for/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [The notion of education through handicrafts rises from the contemplation of truth and love permeating life's activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-notion-of-education-through-handicrafts-rises-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Everything you possess of skill, and wealth, and handicraft, wasn't it first merely a thought and a quest?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-you-possess-of-skill-and-wealth-and-handicraft-wasn-t-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When profits are pursued by geographic interchange of goods, so that commerce for profit becomes the central mechanism of the system, we usually call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/when-profits-are-pursued-by-geographic-interchange-of-goods-so-that/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The fact that I still find so much beauty in a handicraft is because my mother taught us to see not just the craft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-fact-that-i-still-find-so-much-beauty-in-a-handicraft-is-because/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [The object of basic education is the physical, intellectual and moral development of children through the medium of handicraft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-object-of-basic-education-is-the-physical-intellectual-and-moral/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cloth. 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Edwards > [between prosperity and adversity there can be little real fellowship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/between-prosperity-and-adversity-there-can-be-little-real-fellowship/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [It may be said of some very old places, as of some very old books, that they are destined to be forever new. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/it-may-be-said-of-some-very-old-places-as-of-some-very-old-books-that/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [The world is terribly apt to take people at their own valuation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/the-world-is-terribly-apt-to-take-people-at-their-own-valuation/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [The camel has his virtues - so much at least must be admitted; but they do not lie upon the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/the-camel-has-his-virtues-so-much-at-least-must-be-admitted-but-they/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [“My heart beat violently. My forehead was bathed in a cold perspiration. I asked myself for the first time what it was that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/my-heart-beat-violently-my-forehead-was-bathed-in-a-cold-perspiration/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [“The future - what should I do with the future? I felt like one who has climbed the brow of a great hill, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/the-future-what-should-i-do-with-the-future-i-felt-like-one-who-has/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [Literature is, in fact, the fruit of leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/literature-is-in-fact-the-fruit-of-leisure/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [Every reformation ruins somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/every-reformation-ruins-somebody/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [Of all the trees that have ever been cultivated by man, the genealogical tree is the driest. It is one, we may be sure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/of-all-the-trees-that-have-ever-been-cultivated-by-man-the/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [It is so easy to believe in pleasant impossibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/it-is-so-easy-to-believe-in-pleasant-impossibilities/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [Love is of all stimulants the most powerful. It sharpens the wits like danger, and the memory like hatred; it spurs the will like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/love-is-of-all-stimulants-the-most-powerful-it-sharpens-the-wits-like/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) > [It has been aptly said that all Egypt is but the facade of an immense sepulcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-b-edwards/it-has-been-aptly-said-that-all-egypt-is-but-the-facade-of-an-immense/) [Amelia B. Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) [Explore all 13 Amelia B. Edwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-b-edwards/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. 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