Blog


Is archaeology really the career for you? 1

This is a question I ask myself a lot. Am I supposed to be an archaeologist? Is this the best career for me? How can I know that? I’ve recently started listening to The New Man podcast hosted by Tripp Lanier. (FYI: It’s not just for men. My wife is […]

Does archaeology fit within your personal ethos?

Stop archaeology site looting shows

The demise of #naziwarhunters is one small step toward reclaiming the public’s image of archaeology

This week, the HISTARCH listserv and the rest of the blogosphere celebrated the crushing defeat of NatGeo’s poorly planned series Nazi War Diggers. As I wrote before, the show was basically a glorification of battlefield archaeological site looting with the added bonus of human remains desecration. It was an all-around […]


Blogging about cultural resource management archaeology is just the beginning

March, 2014 is the last month of #blogarch Part Deux. In addition to hosting an excellent discussion in the last few months about blogging, archaeology and points between, Doug Rocks-MacQueen posited a killer final question to end the series: Where do you plan on going with blogging or where would […]

Plan for blogging and historic preservation at succinct research

Join the crusade against #naziwardiggers

@NatGeo archaeology site looting show features human remains

National Geographic Channel, what the hell are you thinking? Today I received an alarming message on the HistArch listserv. It seems like the corporate television channel bearing the National Geographic brand has created another riveting archaeological site looting show for its mouth-breathing audience. This time, they even desecrate human remains […]


NSF Archaeology grant success and the University of Arizona

Last week, Doug Rocks-MacQueen posted an article on his blog Doug’s Archaeology titled “Top Organizations Receiving NSF Archaeology Funds.” I was surprised to see my current grad school at the top of the list by a long shot. The University of Arizona dominated the list of National Science Foundation (NSF) […]

Financial independence is the key to ending the poverty mentality in archaeology

Are cultural resource management companies just drab grey suits? 2

Do we cultural resource management archaeologists do the same things? Are historic preservationists just following the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties? After decades of historic preservation and cultural resource management guidelines, are we all just going through the motions—just checking the boxes for our […]

Are cultural resource management archaeologists just like Wall Street bankers?

Should archaeologists carry guns in the field?

Guns in the archaeology classroom; Guns in the field 4

First, I just want to clearly tell everyone: I’m not anti-gun; I’m anti-idiot with a gun. Self-defense is a basic right for all people. This right should not to be confused with interpretations of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution that gun aficionados seem to thing means, “it’s […]


American Red Cross First Aid app is an invaluable tool for archaeologists 1

Last weekend, I took my bi-annual CPR/AED refresher certification through the University of Arizona Recreation Center. I have long been obsessed with learning as much as I can about health and safety in order to help improve the abysmal condition of safety training and awareness in the cultural resource management […]

First_Responder_thenounproject

Archaeology tools at forestry suppliers

Feel the shock and awe of the Forestry Suppliers Archaeology Tools Catalog 1

“The arrival of the catalog became a major social event…In the early days, people wrote letters about their lives when mailing orders to the company…One of the authors of this book…can remember the special excitement among children when, twice a year, the Sears catalog arrived in the mail” (Leiss, William […]