What might modern scientists learn from examining evidence collected by earlier investigators

Earlier investigators collect and note as much information about the artifacts. The idea is that based on the results previously obtained 1) you should be able to reproduce the same results if a modern scientist does the experiment again. 2) The results obtained can be used to develop new ideas or concepts and even better technology. Moreover, modern scientists are able to take on the idea that sometimes we don't need to rely on fancy equipment to get answers.