ELi5 : Why does it seem a lot of archeology began so recently in the 20th and 19th centuries? Why weren’t we digging up stuff much earlier?

Question

It seems many of the most important archeological findings were in the 20th and 19th century. Why did humans wait so long to start digging stuff up?

In: 961

Answer 1

International travel is still a comparatively recent thing (exploration, conquest, colonisation only happened in the past few hundred years) so people simply didn’t go to other countries to investigate their histories.

Locals likely grew up knowing a lot about the people who lived where these digs take place and likely respected them and their history more than a foreigner would.

We also have better technology these days that make digs and investigations more viable.