A definition of archaeology.

slowburner

I recent years, (quite a few actually) academia has seen a need to hold a mirror up to archaeology and ask what it is for, what is its purpose, and what are the principles that direct how we ask archaeological questions?
Sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political theory, and various other disciplines seem to play an increasingly influential role in both how we frame questions, and how we interpret or give meaning to the answers.
Whether or not this is a productive avenue for archaeology to explore, is for another time, but it raises the interesting possibility that we might all have a different view of what archaeology is about.
So...
What is your personal definition or understanding of archaeology?
What does it mean to you, and how do you apply that definition to how you 'do' your archaeology?

You don't have to be an archaeologist to have an opinion, you just have to 'do' archaeology. And that includes nearly all the regular contributors here.

slowburner

For me, archaeology is the study of place and the study of peoples' interactions with that place through surviving material remains and associated human transformations of the environment.

This definition is a work in progress, but it emphasises my belief in the importance of place in archaeology: an aspect I believe, that is increasingly overlooked.
'Place' is a pretty nebulous concept. I would loosely define it as a spatial unit defined by the culture or people who inhabit, or inhabited that spatial unit. So place could be anything from a house to a continent. The crucial thing is that it is described by human interaction with that spatial unit. It also includes a presupposition that the place is transformed or altered by its interaction with people.
Criticisms welcome.