Some cultural resource management archaeologists are homeless. I’ve known this for years. It’s a part of being an archaeologist in the United States we don’t want to talk about. Cultural resource management archaeology is an unconventional career where practitioners can expect to spend extended periods away from home while working. […]
I haven’t given up on the idea of buying historical properties, fixing them up, and maintaining them as a rental property. I feel like this is also a viable way we can keep the historical fabric of American neighborhoods alive. I’ve written about this before, but my previous timeframe might […]
Investment, development, and commerce in Africa is nothing new. Egypt is no stranger to international commerce or monumental architecture. They’ve been doing it for over 4,500 years. Procurement of African luxury items sourced from the upper Nile River was integral to the Roman economy 2,000 years ago. The Swahili Coast […]
For the first time in the 13 years I’ve been going to the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) conference, the temperature in the destination will probably be about the same as it is where I’m currently living. It’s going to be a balmy 65 degrees in Berkeley; it’s going to […]
Yes. You can get out of cultural resource management. No. You can’t get out of archaeology. Aside from the latest episode of The Great War on YouTube, the highlight of my week has been following two Facebook threads asking, “Why did you get out of CRM archaeology?” Both threads amassed […]
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a strong chance you are, or want to become, an archaeologist. If this is the case, think back to the day you decided this was what you were going to do. There was probably an event that sparked your interest in becoming an archaeologist. […]
A co-worker recently told me a story about a job applicant who called inquiring about a position but inadvertently submarined any chance of her getting the job. My amiga helps hire people for a small department within a larger company and frequently fields phone calls about job postings. A few […]
Last week, I talked about how degree inflation is making it harder for young archaeologists to land entry-level archaeological field technician jobs without having a graduate degree. There is a lot of incentive for cultural resource management companies to hire field techs who have more than a Bachelor’s degree: Graduate […]
I don’t know why, but I’ve been feeling happier the last few days even though I’m in the middle of preparing for my comprehensive exams for my anthropology PhD. Comps is supposed to be one of the most stressful experiences in any graduate student’s life but it really has not […]
Usually the Huffington Post is full of irrelevant, speculative fluff pieces, but one of their recent articles actually caught my attention. A senior astronomer at SETI, Seth Shostak, asked “Could this be Humanity’s Last Century?” He wasn’t talking about our extinction but, rather, our evolution. He raised several valid questions […]
