Professional archaeologists work in a wide variety of settings. Archaeologists are employed by federal and state government agencies, museums and historic sites, colleges and universities, and engineering firms with cultural resource management divisions. Some archaeologists work as consultants or form their own companies. The majority of archaeologists today are employed in cultural resource management, or CRM.

Archaeologists do much more than “dig!” Archaeologists in federal, tribal and state government agencies are responsible for managing, protecting and interpreting archaeological sites on public land. Working in museums, archaeological parks, or historic sites, archaeologists may manage collections of artifacts, work in education or public programming, or become administrators that manage programs relating to research, collections, education, and exhibitions. See similar questions...

Professional archaeologists do not keep, buy, sell, or trade any artifacts. Quite simply, they don't get to keep what they find because it doesn't belong to them. If archaeologists kept what they found, they would be the only ones to know the story behind the object. Archaeologists want to share their discoveries. Archaeologists recover and record the discoveries they make and then share them in various ways including: publications, displays, brochures or lectures. See similar questions...

The hours worked by archaeologists vary greatly. There are archaeologists who work in state or federal government offices, or public museums, who are required to work 8 hour days/40 hr. work weeks—a pretty typical "9 to 5" job. Like most professionals, however, it is not uncommon for archaeologists to work many more hours than is required. See similar questions...

No, this is a popular misconception. Archaeologists are primarily concerned with the prehistoric and early historic occupants of the area. The study of dinosaurs, and of fossils, is in the realm of palaeontology, defined as the study of fossil organisms. Palaeontologists normally have advanced degrees in sciences, and work in Departments of Geology or Earth Sciences. See similar questions...

The salary an archaeologist earns depends upon many factors including their level of education, years of experience, and where they are employed. A field assistant just starting out, with a BA in anthropology, working as a temporary field employee on a project, will typically earn $10 to $12 dollars an hour. A professor or a museum curator at a large research institution who has a PhD, many years of experience, and has produced many publications, may earn $80,000 to $100,000 a year. See similar questions...

It depends. Archaeologists whose research areas are not near where they live may travel regularly, as funding permits, to conduct surveys or excavations. Many archaeologists, however, are in jobs that do not require much travel. This is true for some jobs in federal and state government, museums, parks and historic sites—jobs that involve managing collections or public programs or education. Other archaeologists travel but within a confined geographic area. See similar questions...

NO, not intentionally anyway. Archaeology is the study of past human life and culture by the recovery and examination of remaining material evidence, such as buildings, tools, and pottery. Paleontology is the study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic times, as represented by the fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms. Therefore, it would be paleontologists who would be interested in searching for and recovering dinosaur or other remains. See similar questions...

When people think about the work of an archaeologist, most probably think of a crew of people digging in the earth for remains of the past. The field work is only one of four phases of an archaeological project and it can often be the one that can take the least amount of time. Researching a site can be a very lengthy process. See similar questions...

Professional archaeologists work for universities, colleges, museums, the federal government, state governments, in private companies, and as consultants. They teach, conduct field investigations, analyze artifacts and sites, and publish the results of their research. The minimal educational requirement to work as a field archaeologist is a B.A. or B.S. See similar questions...

First of all, archaeologists date excavated structures (and their phases) using modern stratigraphic methods. These mainly depend on pottery and coin evidence found in the various layers of the excavation. After establishing a pre-70 date for a structure (or one of its phases), excavators adhere to a number of criteria in determining whether or not the building is a synagogue. These include: Correspondence to later synagogue architectural typology (i.e. See similar questions...

Although there have been a variety of spectacular finds, including cannons, a bronze bell, flakes of gold and two beautiful wine bottles, archaeologists look at the collection as a whole for its significance. With a large array of cannon and shot they are able to get a glimpse of naval warfare during the early 18th century. Food remains and eating utensils give them an idea how they lived. Navigational and medical instruments reveal the technology of the day. See similar questions...

No one can promise that participation in a residential drug rehab will induce sobriety, but no other drug treatment program offers as great a probability of successful recovery. Between 40% and 60% of participants in drug rehab leave the program to lead better lives of complete sobriety; some others may eventually relapse and need some degree of additional therapy; and some recovering addicts may need to undergo a residential program more than once. See similar questions...