This is the discussion for Chapter 2. In a first person conversation write a brief summary on the chapter and add something you found interesting. The archaeological evidence available to us depends on a number of important factors: How people, past and present, have affected the archaeological record (cultural formation processes). What such natural conditions as soil and climate have preserved or destroyed (natural formation processes). Inorganic materials usually survive far better than organic matter, but the latter can be well preserved in a range of special environmentsdry, cold, and waterlogged. Our ability to find, recognize, recover, and conserve the evidence. We cannot influence the first two factors: they are at the mercy of both the elements and past human behavior. But the third factor, which is the subject of Archaeology Essentials, is constantly improving, as we understand better how decay and destruction occur, and design research strategies and technical aids to make the most of the surviving archaeological evidence