Archaeological subfields are typically characterised by a focus on a specific method, type of material, geographical, chronological, or other thematic categories. Among academic disciplines, archaeology, in particular, often can be found in cross-disciplinary research due to the inherent multidisciplinary and geographical nature of the field in general. The lived human experience is vast and varied and reconstructing those lifeways and their consequences requires problem solving from numerous angles. In general, archaeologists work backwards with their research, starting with what is already known.

Another main division of archaeology distinguishes:

In areas of semi-literacy the term

A selective list of sub-disciplines distinguished by time-period might include:

More regional specific categories include:

Some archaeologists fall into regional or categorical groupings based on geography; these include:

Certain civilizations and cultural groups have attracted so much attention that their study has been specifically named. These sub-disciplines include:

Some archaeologists prefer to approach their research from various philosophical and political lenses. These include: