Working At Archaeology

Non-Aboriginal material.

Proceedings of a conference session held at CIfA 2014. The session focused on ways in which it is possible to engage with a wider audience in the course of maritime archaeological work. Papers offer a series of case studies exhibiting best practice with regard to individual maritime projects and examples of outreach to local communities.

Becoming an Archaeologist: A Guide to Professional Pathways is an engaging handbook on career paths in the area of archaeology. It outlines in straightforward fashion the entire process of getting a job in archaeology, including the various options; the training that is required; and how to get positions in the academic, commercial and government worlds. It also includes discussion of careers in related heritage professions such as museums and conservation societies. The book includes a series of interviews with real archaeologists, all young professionals who began their careers within the last ten years. These insider guides offer essential tips on how they got their first job and progressed in their careers. Written in an accessible style, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the realities of archaeology in the 21st century.

The sociopolitical climate of Hawai‘i has changed substantially in recent decades, and archaeologists working to decipher the islands’ past are increasingly faced with a complexity of issues involving Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) concerns. Among these are the push for sovereignty; cultural perpetuation and revitalization; legal challenges to Kanaka Maoli programs, such as Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). In Kuleana and Commitment, Kathleen L. Kawelu examines the entangled interactions between Kanaka Maoli and archaeologists in Hawai‘i by conducting an ethnographic investigation of the discipline of archaeology itself. She explores the development of Hawaiian archaeology, discusses important cases of the recent past, and focuses on the interpersonal relationships between these two key groups involved in heritage management in Hawai‘i. By revealing and understanding the contemporary attitudes of Kanaka Maoli and archaeologists toward each other, Kawelu suggests a change in trajectory toward a more collaborative approach in practicing Hawaiian archaeology. Through interviews with individuals from both communities, Kawelu taps into collective narratives that reveal two overarching themes. The first narrative speaks about the continuation of Kanaka Maoli cultural practices and beliefs, for example, kuleana (responsibility); the second speaks about the kind of commitment to Hawaiian archaeology and Kanaka Maoli descendants that is desired from archaeologists. Requests for respect, communication, and partnership are heard in the narratives. These same qualities also serve as the foundation for community-based archaeology, which challenges the exclusive access of archaeologists to the past and places the discipline and its practitioners among a broader group of stakeholders, particularly descendant communities.

This book tells the story of women in archaeology worldwide and their dedication to advancing knowledge and human understanding. In their own voices, they present themselves as archaeologists working in academia or the private and public sector across 33 countries. The chapters in this volume reconstruct the history of archaeology while honoring those female scholars and their pivotal research who are no longer with us. Many scholars in this volume fiercely explore non-traditional research areas in archaeology. The chapters bear witness to their valuable and unique contributions to reconstructing the past through innovative theoretical and methodological approaches. In doing so, they share the inherent difficulties of practicing archaeology, not only because they, too, are mothers, sisters, and wives but also because of the context in which they are writing. This volume may interest researchers in archaeology, history of science, gender studies, and feminist theory. Chapter 11 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Chris Webster’s handy, informative guide outlines what it takes to become an archaeological technician, a field worker in cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology. Based on his popular blog feature, Shovelbums Guide, Webster offers young archaeologists useful advice about CRM work, including writing, cooking in hotel rooms, hand-mapping, surviving unemployment, life after archaeology, and more. It provides tools new CRM archaeologists need to get hired and to live life on the road in a fluctuating job market, as well as details on how to succeed as a field archaeologist. Appendices cover sample job hunting documents and checklists for fieldwork. If you will be pursuing a position in this dynamic, challenging field, this book is a must-read both before you apply for that first job and once you get one.

The fourteen essays in this collection explore the place of women in archaeology in the twentieth century, arguing that they have largely been excluded from "an essentially all-male establishment."

Bureaucratic Archaeology is a multi-faceted ethnography of quotidian practices of archaeology, bureaucracy and science in postcolonial India, concentrating on the workings of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This book uncovers an endemic link between micro-practice of archaeology in the trenches of the ASI to the manufacture of archaeological knowledge, wielded in the making of political and religious identity and summoned as indelible evidence in the juridical adjudication in the highest courts of India. This book is a rare ethnography of the daily practice of a postcolonial bureaucracy from within rather than from the outside. It meticulously uncovers the social, cultural, political and epistemological ecology of ASI archaeologists to show how postcolonial state assembles and produces knowledge. This is the first book length monograph on the workings of archaeology in a non-western world, which meticulously shows how theory of archaeological practice deviates, transforms and generates knowledge outside the Euro-American epistemological tradition.