r/AskArchaeology

I guess that you know the theory about the human species originated from what we call Africa today. I see a lot of people using this theory to talk about their political views and other stuff, always used in the wrong way. So my question is if it’s true that we all came from the land that we call Africa today, and most especially, if this theory is used just as a pretense and if the original birth point has any significance to people of modern day, like if the land was completely different back there that it’s worthless comparing the modern land and cultures.

I'm graduating in archaeology, but I would love to be able to study other things that don't involve anthropology. I'm trying to delve deeper into the field of bioarchaeology, but I still can't seem to escape the social sciences. I would appreciate suggestions for areas that would allow me to pursue a master's degree without having an undergraduate degree in the field.

For context: I am a decently experienced early career archaeologist with specializations in zooarchaeology, an MA in anthropology, and experience working in Alaska and the Northeast. I can dig, hike, carry no problem. I am also pretty experienced with primitive camping but have never attempted to live on the road. My main goal right now is to get enough field time to become an RPA.

I've talked to some of my current crewmates about a burgeoning plan to drive to the southwest looking for winter work as a shovel bum. Several have said they would do it if given the chance, but I've yet to meet anybody who has pulled it off.

My idea is to get on with multiple firms and rotate based on availability, as most of those jobs are on-call. In the summer I would go further north, maybe to the Dakotas, and then come back south with winter. I would shower at gyms and campsites, and camp on federal lands and organized campsites. I am an outdoorsy person and want to go somewhere where I can work when I want, then camp and travel when I want. At this stage in my career, CRM gives that flexibility. Is there going to be any major issues with this, or do other people use this lifestyle to follow jobs as well?

Hi, I’m training as an archaeologist (BC, Canada) and a lot of my coworkers are guardians from the local FNs. One guardian was from Port Hardy in Vancouver Island and I asked him about coastal cultures there and he mentioned (briefly) that there was a long oral history of contact between his community in Port Hardy and Hawaiians. I unfortunately never got his contact information to inquire further and didn’t really press at the time, though I regret it. I’ve been trying to look it up since and I couldn’t find much information on it. I’m super interested to learn more but can’t contact him or find anything about it online so I was wondering if anyone here had heard of this, and know any further information. Thanks :)

Hello Archeologists!

I finished my 2nd year at bachelor's degree and my internship started again!

I would love to know what is your gear set up for drawing in field? I have done my fair share with drawing artifacts but not in field (currently I have an excavation - where I would love to help with drawing).

Thanks a lot!

I understand that several myths and legends from ancient times indicate that people may have seen fossils. Do we have any actual examples of fossils turning up in ancients humans’ belongings/collections?

What are some of the best colleges in the states for prehistoric archeology? I’ve looked around on niche and other such college websites in pursuit of good archeology programs, but they all seem to focus on classical archeology. i’m more interested in prehistory (before writing). are there any recommendations of colleges that have a decent program that explores prehistoric archeology?

Hi :) I'm an undergrad archaeology student, and after a couple digs I've noticed that a lot of others around me have struggled with various different issues like tendonitis, stress fractures, and back problems through excavations. I have a nerve disability and so was wanting some advice on how to conserve my health on digs, and prevent injuries that could damage my nerves? Thanks for any help!

Hi everyone, I graduated with my bachelors in Anthro with a concentration in archaeology and a minor in history back in May.

Since February 2026 I’ve been applying to around 40 jobs and have since been hired with two CRM archaeology firms as an on call field technician making 20$/hr. These were the only jobs I heard back from. I got home from school at the end of May and have since worked on a couple projects for a total of 10 days excavating in the field.

I have a bunch of field experience from college and the principal investigators and crew chiefs really seemed to like my work, even said they’d put in a good word for me. I don’t mind rough conditions and digging STP’s.

The problem is I’m an ambitious person, and I want to do more.I hate sitting around at home with no work. I haven’t had work for a few weeks now as I’m waiting for my next assignment, and I just want to be doing more. Even when I was working in the field I wanted to do more.

Ive been doing a lot of thinking about what pathways this could lead to and I’m just worried i may hit a dead end with the whole CRM thing. It doesn’t seem like there are any substantial firms within an hour of me so it’s difficult to find permanent work. Im open to jobs outside of CRM whatever those may be. Are there any other avenues that i could be exploring?

Hello fellas!

TLDR; I am doing an ernty course, so what are some lifehacks that you would share with students going to their first campaings / graduates who take their first field job? whats good to have always closeby? whats the best tool and such. thank you already <3

For anyone who wants some context:

I'm working in Germany, and contrary to the stereotype of everything being overregulated, archaeology students here often don't receive a proper health and safety briefing through their university. In theory, they should get one from their employer before starting any fieldwork, but in practice many employers (especially universities and institutes) are surprisingly neglectful when it comes to this matter.

This doesn't just cover general site safety. It also includes things like insurance, your right to refuse unsafe work, basic labor laws, accident insurance, and what you're actually covered for if something goes wrong.

I was honestly surprised by how many qualified archaeologists I worked with had no idea that some of the practices they considered "normal" were actually illegal and could leave them with nothing but standard health insurance, a huge amount of debt, or worse. So, if you haven't already, it's probably worth looking into your own country's regulations as well.

Because of this, I'm giving a two-hour lecture for first-year students before they head out on their first excavation or construction-site project. A few more advanced students are joining as well.

Finally to the conclusion: To end on a lighter note, we're putting together a list of useful tips and a "I pack my bag before my field season".

So, what's one piece of advice, life hack, tool, lesson and sum such you'd tell a student and people in general who dig the first time in your soil of speciality?

I've always been really interested in his philosophy, and it's very sad to know how little of it survives. I've heard it may be possible to recover a decent amount. Even having a significant understanding of the specifics of his ideas would be great. Thanks!

Im mainly asking this out of curiosity and since I am going to graduate with a bachelors in anthropology soon, I want to start thinking about next steps afterwards. I plan to take some time before getting my masters and attend a few field schools and gain some more experience.

I recently did a forensic anthropology field school and I loved it, but I also know that forensic anthropology itself is incredibly competitive and I have more of an interest in bioarch anyway. I am a U.S. citizen, but I qualify for Mexican citizenship that I do plan on getting at some point, which I’m sure will make work in Mexico easier for me to get.

My main question is on opportunities of bio-archaeology (and archaeology in general) in Latin America (especially Mexico). Are there specific places/countries that have more opportunities than others? If I decide to pursue work in Latin America, how should I go about making connections and what kind of experience should I be focused on getting? Where should I be making my connections to get more into this work? Are there any recommendations anyone has for for grad schools (either in U.S. or LatAm) that would be good for someone more bioarch focused?

I know this is pretty general, but I’d love any advice or thoughts on possible paths and experience I could do now. Who knows, maybe I’ll find out that bioarch isn’t for me, but regardless I do want to work in Latin America and I plan on living in Mexico in the future anyways.

I'm a writer and I'm currently writing a story which starts with the uncovering of a small historic (pre-16thC) human burial on a building site in central London. Can someone tell me what the penalty is for a developer/construction firm if they deliberately destroy historic human remains in order to avoid a delay to their project? Also, is this common and are there any recent real cases that would be helpful for me to look at?

Thanks

I recently heard about wrestling doctors, doctors who work next to wrestling rings, a place that makes sense but a position you’d never really think about for a doctor. Now in archaeology the most common things I hear are that the career options are CRM or (if you’re lucky) academia. I’m wondering if there’s any “wrestling doctor” positions in archaeology, places that one may not expect where archaeologists work.

The six-sided die (d6) and oddly-shaped stuff like sheep’s knucklebones used for the same purposes as dice have—to my knowledge—been invented and used in basically every civilization.

But where did the d4, d8, d10, d12, d20 and other dice come from? Are these other-sided dice just purely modern, 20th-century inventions? Or do they have a longer history?

I remember months ago reading about somewhere in Iraq or around it, in the black market, pieces of looted artifacts were being sold

"After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, thousands of archaeological sites were looted. Before archaeologists had the opportunity to study many of these locations, cuneiform clay tablets, cylinder seals, and other ancient artifacts began appearing on the international black market. Experts realized that these artifacts all originated from the same previously unknown site, suggesting that looters had discovered an ancient city before professional archaeologists did.

The most famous example is the ancient city of Irisaĝrig. For many years, it was known only from ancient texts, but its exact location remained a mystery. After 2003, hundreds of administrative cuneiform tablets from this city appeared on the black market. By studying these tablets, archaeologists were able to reconstruct part of the city's history and significantly narrow down its location, even without conducting official excavations."

I'm always curious about stories like these. Are there any curious modern history about artifacts found on black market that hints about unofficial findings?

Hello, I am looking to do a career change into Archaeology, something I wanted to do desperately when I was younger! I currently have a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Latin from 10 years ago and am unsure if the best route for me to go is to get a masters in Archaeology (or Anthro if I did it through a US school) or start over and get another bachelor's degree before continuing onto a masters. I am older than most students and a parent as well so I am looking at online programs to continue working during it, like the University of Leicester, and I am only looking at programs that have field school opportunities. I have also networked with archaeologists at Colonial Williamsburg and know of an opportunity through them with W&M to do field school regardless of what school I am attending. I know field school is very important.

I would love to go academic and get a doctorate as well, but I am aware those are highly competitive. If that route didn't work I would be interested in working research, in the public space for a town/county/etc, or for a foundation or museum. My husband and I are looking to be living in Europe one day, so I would love to aim for countries like the UK, Netherlands, Germany, or Denmark to also have good opportunities for my husband. While I love Roman history and archaeology I know it is a very sought after field, and am interested in specializing in the Neolithic period in Europe or SE Asia if I went into research.

For these careers is having a relevant masters enough or would having the bachelor's be better as well? I have seen mixed info online about how the field is, that some career routes or employers may want full relevant education rather than just a masters for career changers.

Thanks in advance! I apologize for brain vomiting out my thoughts, but I am so excited to do and really want to make it work!

I graduated with my bachelors in archaeology in the U.S a few months back. I have a bunch of field and lab experience and have worked with CRM firms.

I am just at a loss.

I knew the pay was rough and the jobs were somewhat few. I was however led to believe that there was a path and a reliable one at that.

The path was described as getting a lowly field tech job and working at that for a bit before either getting hired full time or getting your masters, at which point you would be able to make a livable wage guaranteed.

I work a 20$ an hour job and I rarely get work. I’m signed with two CRM firms but most of the time I can’t even justify traveling hundreds of miles to make 20$ an hour, with expenses and car mileage and gas and tolls it gets ridiculous. Now I’m finding all these techs who have been working as temp techs for 10 years plus. How does that happen? How do you survive? I guess if you can make it work that’s cool, but it scares the shit outa me. I enjoy field teching but it’s kind of mindless work, and I already find myself wanting do more.

Anyway back to the whole masters thing. I thought if you get a masters you were basically guaranteed a salaried position, nothing crazy but a salary. Now I’m running into all these crew chiefs and even PI’s making not a whole lot more than the techs with a whole masters degree.

Now I’m on the fence if getting a masters is even feasible in terms of making a living. For me to pay to go back to school it would have to be guaranteed that I could get a salaried position at 50k a year. If not then I don’t see how that could be worth while.

It should be noted I’m also not really in the market for moving cross country, I’m on the eastern sea board and people are like “well if you just move to New Mexico”. I’m not moving to the desert to make 22 dollars an hour😭.

Anyway apologies for this I’m just going through it at the moment.

I appreciate the existence of this post flair

Hello! I am going to be participating in my first field school this summer, and I was wondering about what to wear. The place I am going is a hot, wet, tropical climate. I have classic cargo pants and UV long sleeve shirts, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations (especially for bottoms or shoes). Thank you!

Also I am a woman!