Antiquity may refer to any period before the European Middle Ages (which dates from around 476 with the collapse of Rome to 1492 with the discovery of the new world), but still within Western civilization-based history.:
Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, while in Europe archaeology is often viewed as either a discipline in its own right or a sub-field of other disciplines.
My copper-lamps, at any rate, For being true antique, I bought; Yet wisely melted down my plate, On modern models to be wrought; And trifles I alike pursue, Because they're old, because they're new.