It would be easy to study the past if everything was left for us in writing. Unfortunately, most of our past is not left in clear black and white writing, but rather in small material evidence that needs to be pieced together to understand the whole story. This is where archeologists come in.
Archeology is the study of material remains from the past, such as pottery, monuments, jewelry and tools, to be able to better understand human history and activities from long, before our prior generations inhabited this planet. An archeologist performs excavations at ancient ruins to recover, study and preserve artifacts to learn more about human history and prehistory.
Becoming an archeologist is not an easy feat but once you break into the career, it has one of the fastest growth rates. Most archaeological anthropology jobs require a minimum of a master’s degree in archaeology, anthropology, or history. More prestigious positions require a Ph.D. If you have an undergraduate degree, you can secure a job in an entry-level position or a related field to gain experience, but growth will be extremely slow.
When people think of an archeologist, most picture them standing amidst ruins, brushing dust off ancient artifacts. In reality, archeological site visits are very expensive and destructive to the sites, so most working hours are spent in labs trying to study previously found artifacts and interpret them into reports for the general public.
Some of the most important discoveries made by archeologists include The Rosetta Stone in Egypt that provided a key for understanding hieroglyphs, Machu Picchu in Peru where a lost Inca citadel was discovered proving the technical capabilities of the Inca Empire, and the well-preserved ancient city of Akrotiri in Greece showing us how a prosperous trading center worked over 3500 years ago.
Some of the oldest artifacts found by archeologists date back over 3 million years. The 3.3 million-year-old stone tools found at an archeological site in Kenya proved that the ability to create tools existed in our ancestors long before humans, as we know them, ever existed.
Being an archeologist could be a very exciting and adventurous professional journey.