Why study archaeology and set it as a career goal?

Thanks to Hollywood heroes such as Indiana Jones, Archaeology is one of the most popular subfields of Anthropology. The other three major subfields of Anthropology are ethnology (or cultural anthropology), biological (or ‘physical’) anthropology, and linguistics (the study of languages).

The goal of archaeologists is to reconstruct the daily life of humans throughout history. They also strive to map cultural change through time and make connections between cultures. Although both historians and archaeologists are concerned with reconstructing our past, archeologists are different in two major ways. First of all, historians deal mostly with history and not prehistory. Prehistory is defined as ‘the time before written records’. Due to the nature and definition of prehistory, the line between history and prehistory is different from culture to culture, and region to region. (It should be noted, however, that a specialized subdiscipline of archaeology, called historical archaeology, focuses on historical remains rather than prehistorical remains.)

A second difference between historians and archaeologists is that historians deal with written documents, where as archaeologists deal other material remains. Archaeologists work with ‘artifacts’. An artifact is any material remain left behind by the culture the archaeologist is studying. An artifact could be a tool, pottery shards, the walls of an ancient room, or even human bones.

An education in archaeology is usually obtained through the anthropology department of a university. General coursework in all subdisciplines of anthropology can be expected, with an emphasis on archaeology. Some classes in the earth sciences are beneficial, particularly geology.

Coursework from the geography department in soils and river formations will also be helpful to an archaeologist. If you are able to identify an archaeological specialty you are interested in early in your education, you will be able to gear your open class hours towards your specialty. Some examples of specialties include zooarchaeology (specializes in animal remains; would benefit from zoology courses), osteology (bone specialist; would benefit from anatomy courses), underwater archaeology (specializes in recovering underwater sites; would benefit from oceanography courses), dating (specializes in dating artifacts; would benefit from courses in chemistry and math), or a geographic area of emphasis.

Some archaeology students find work as contract archaeologists after graduation. Contract archaeologists work for private companies and are hired to survey sites prior to construction. Every state also hires archaeologists to ensure the preservation of the state’s prehistory. If you are interested in going out on actual ‘digs’, it is important to gain experience in the field during your education. Most major universities offer field schools, or except credit from outside field schools, for their archaeology students. A field school often takes place during the summer session and offers the student this all-important experience.

Depending on their specialized schooling, some students of archaeology find work on forensics teams (osteology specialty) or for government sponsored geology labs (geology specialty). If you are interested in teaching or working at a museum, you should expect to pursue your Masters degree. If you would like to do research at the university level, you will need to pursue your Ph.D. Perhaps most importantly, however, Archaeology is a fascinating liberal arts education that allows the student varied career opportunities that any other liberal arts degree would.