Careers in Archaeology - Research Paper Example

Careers in Archaeology Intellectuals and professionals, who work primarily for the public, through various s such as universities, museums, governments, colleges, and so on, populate archaeology as a branch of science. However, some do occasionally find work in the private sector, primarily as consultants, although these opportunities are far less common and increasingly require special skills or experience. Archaeologists in the public sector teach, investigate, conduct research, analyze artifacts, write, and publish findings. To work in the field, one typically needs experience in field research in addition to a higher-level degree focused on a specific area of research within the science. Before World War II, professional archaeology grew out of the growth of antique markets and the development of large museums. Nevertheless, after the war, archaeologists found their place within a specialized department in most major universities, and in the 1970s, a private market for archaeology expanded with the growth of government regulations on cultural preservation (Patterson). Professional archaeologists in an academic setting choose between three generally defined subgroups of academia: the university, the college, and the community college. The first, the university, features a faculty that teach graduate courses, courses in an upper level undergraduate context, and introductory level courses. Since the university is the only institution that offers advanced graduate degrees in archaeology, such as the Ph.D., a Ph.D. is likely required to be hired to a university staff. However, having a Ph.D. alone is not good enough for a vast majority of universities looking to hire new faculty. A college or a community college offers only upper level and introductory level teaching positions. Faculty otherwise spend their time petitioning for research funds or actually conducting their research in laboratories or the field. Archaeologists may also find themselves in other departments within the college or university, such as in anthropology, art history, architecture, and history. Teaching archaeology, according to some authors, requires a high degree of creativity to allow students to understand the material and social processes that generate their own subjectivity, and to question and transform these processes (Hamilakis 288). Also primarily within the public sphere are museum positions open to archaeologists to contribute to the museum’s collection of historical artifacts. Either museums are often connected with a university or some other public organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge. Museums facilitate research, publication, presentations, displays, and collections, all of which advance the interests of archaeology as a whole. These opportunities for employment in museums correspond to positions offered within the government itself, either through the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These government agencies, at the state level as well, either manage archaeological sites on federal and state lands, consult construction projects that require archaeological surveys, or work in the state’s historic preservation office. One author describes a potentially interesting direction for archaeology in general is in the application of large, interdisciplinary work that involves archaeology to understanding of “contemporary socioenvironmental problems” (Leeuw and Redman 597). That is, the study of previous civilizations may inform and educate society about life, earth, and social processes over long time spans. This means there is a larger role for archaeology to be played in the study of contemporary environmental issues. In the private sector, archaeologists work for firms that perform what are called cultural resources management investigations, which, in every state, are required by law for the preservation and conservation of local culture as represented by artifacts. Often working in association either with public sector archaeologists at universities or colleges, private sector archaeological consultants work independently or with firms that specialize in archaeological investigations. A position in the private sector, in addition to a strong rooting in the science, includes a business-oriented education as well. Otherwise, private sector archaeologists perform many of the same job tasks as public sector ones: working in the field, analyzing artifacts in the library, writing reports, publishing findings, preparing proposals, and so on. Field positions involve excavating significant sites prior to private construction. The education and training to enter these different subfields within the science of archaeology differ to the same degree that the disciplines within the science differ. That is, because most archaeology departments are not separate from anthropology departments, general archaeology is usually grouped with three subgroupings of anthropology: physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. However, this encourages the archaeology department to work in an interdisciplinary fashion with other programs specializing in architecture, linguistics, art, and so on. This allows students to gain knowledge from a variety of programs at once, and become a true specialist in a very specific intersection between archaeology and any number of other liberal arts disciplines. At the undergraduate level, the anthropology major, which most potential archaeologists usually follow through upon, is quite general in the content it covers. Potential archaeologists also make use of archaeological field schools that emphasize experience in the field at archaeological sites, before that student moves further into a graduate education and specializes his study (Perry 236-8). For those interested in pursuing archaeology past their undergraduate education, two levels of training usually present themselves to students. The first is the M.A. (or M.S.) degree and the second is the Ph.D. Those degrees require approximately 3 to 5 years respectively. The Master’s degree requires a thesis from original research, but does not require an oral defense. The Ph.D., in contrast, requires a defense of a dissertation. Depending on one’s goals as an archaeologist, the Ph.D. path may be more rewarding, considering it is in essence required to teach at the university level or to hold curatorship at a museum. Otherwise, the M.A. or M.S. degree is sufficient for most other “typical” duties an archaeologist might expected to have, including directing field crews, holding a government position, teach at a community college, work in a museum, and work in the private sector. A Master’s degree with some field experience (as little as one year) allows one to meet the minimum standards for membership in the Society of Professional Archaeologists, which allows international recognition as a professional in the field. In the UK, Kenneth Aitchison cites an overabundance of archaeologist practitioners as one of the greatest challenges for future workers within the private and public industries (Aitchison 206). Going forward into the 21st century, the career outlooks in the archaeology industry—public or private—does not look encouraging, given the number of graduates in comparison to the number of advertised positions for archaeologists. This labor market for archaeologists has been greatly helped by government regulations on construction that may involve the destruction of culturally important lands. Archaeologists, either publically or privately, are required to excavate and preserve the cultural significance of these sites before construction and private use continues forward. Even now, however, the field itself is changing dramatically. Because archaeology is involved in such an interdisciplinary fashion with a number of other social science departments in the academia, it is inevitable that it is receiving and imparting influence on how science is being conducted. Any member of this field should be ready to adapt with changes one should expect to see in the coming decades. Despite all that has been said about how one trains to be an archaeologist and how one finds work within the field, there is always room for fundamental changes to be made in how things operate. Large changes, such as the move to universities and the move to the private sector, have happened gradually, but a change may be coming. Works Cited Aitchison, Kenneth. "Supply, demand and a failure of understanding: addressing the culture clash between archaeologists expectations for training and employment in academia versus practice." World Archaeology, Volume 36, Issue 2 (2004): 203-219. Hamilakis, Yannis. "Archaeology and the politics of pedagogy." World Archaeology, Volume 36, Issue 2 (2004): 287-309. Leeuw, Sander van der and Charles L. Redman. "Placing Archaeology at the Center of Socio-Natural Studies." American Antiquity, Volume 67, Issue 4 (2002): 597-605. Patterson, Thomas C. "The Political Economy of Archaeology in the United States." Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 28 (1999): 155-174. Perry, Jennifer E. "Authentic learning in field schools: preparing future members of the archaeological community." World Archaeology, Volume 36, Issue 2 (2004): 236-260. Read More