I recently had a conversation with a college undergraduate who was at #SHA2016 looking for a job. He spoke with such intensity and stared me in the eye as he spoke. “I don’t care what job I get after graduation. I’ll do anything. Seriously.” Those same eyes flickered with enthusiasm, […]
(This is the second in a 3-part series on a workshop focused on the future of cultural resource management archaeology that was given as part of the University of Arizona’s School of Anthropology Centennial celebration. You can check out Part I here and Part II here.) “What’s your advice to […]
(This is the first in a 3-part series on a workshop focused on the future of cultural resource management archaeology that was given as part of the University of Arizona’s School of Anthropology Centennial celebration.) Cultural resource management companies in Tucson joke about the fact that some of them have […]
Every now and then, I hear from an aspiring archaeologist who is confused by the things they read on social media about the cultural resource management industry. The source of their confusion comes from the following conversation: 1) Somebody says CRM archaeology sucks. 2) Even though archaeology is their dream […]
I am in the process of creating an online course focused on Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Even though I’ve been doing cultural resource management archaeology for over a decade, I admit I still have a lot to learn because, in order to successfully navigate the […]
Last week I helped a friend and peer get a good shot at her first job in cultural resource management archaeology. She’d just finished her anthro B.A. and I worked with her this summer. I quickly recognized that she had a lot of talent and promise. She’s the kind of […]
In the book Small Archaeology Project Management, I described a day when I let my entire crew’s shovel probe forms get soaked in the rain. A whole week’s work was compromised. The result wasn’t pretty. I did my best to dry out the forms, but, ultimately, I had to do […]
(This is a guest post distilled from conversation threads created by the active and experienced members of two cultural resource management archaeology Facebook groups: the “North American Archaeological Technicians” [390 members] and the “Archaeo Field Techs” [1,557 members]. Personal identities have been omitted in order to protect the privacy of […]
This week, a discussion was sparked on the Facebook Archaeo Field Techs’ Group (FYI: If you’re an archaeologist or an aspiring one and you have a FB account, you need to join this group. It’s an excellent way to stay current on happenings in the industry). The conversation focused on […]
In my experience, most cultural resource management companies do not like to hire new employees. New hires take time to get up to speed. A CRM archaeology PI once told me it takes 18 months to two years just to get a new field tech, crew chief, or principal investigator […]
