Monthly Archives: August 2013


How do we enforce accountability in cultural resource management

This post comes hot on the heels of a fiery debate on the Archaeology Careerist’s Network LinkedIn group about #freearchaeology (If you haven’t signed up for the LI group, you really should. And, I’m not just saying that because I’m the group’s manager. There have been some lively topics about […]


Calling all archaeologist filmmakers…

For the Day of Archaeology 2013, I made a short film of my work week. It wasn’t that great of a film, barely above home movie, but I had a blast making it. Fortunately, I have a blog and a YouTube channel and have decided to make a few more […]


Conduct a SWOT analysis before your cultural resource management fieldwork

Sometimes, when I think back on my career in cultural resource management, I wonder if I even made any money for the companies I worked for in the beginning. I can recall an especially disastrous project where I ended up driving about 220 miles on an icy Interstate 90, risking […]


30-Minute Online Map Blitz for cultural resource managers

Here’s a scenario. You’ve been given a cultural resources survey project somewhere in the United States that is going down ASAP. You have no idea where this is. Neither do any of your co-workers or acquaintances. You do not have the records search yet and have no idea what archaeological […]


What watching the A-Team taught me about archaeology

As a young boy, I fondly recall watching episodes of the A-Team every week with my family. I remember snuggling deep into my Star Wars pajamas and curling up with a bowl of ice cream while we all watched Mr. T and the gang punch, blast, and shoot their way […]


Keeping your cultural resource management employees in the dark

In the last decade, I’ve worked for quite a few cultural resource management and historic preservation companies across the United States. Only one of these companies told their employees about the project goal and objectives for the next year. All the other ones rarely let their employees know what was […]


CRM Archaeology Podcast Recap for July, 2013

“If you can’t stand the heat in the kitchen, just go outside in the summer in southern Arizona. In five minutes, you’ll be banging on the door to get back into that damn kitchen.” Me It was a pretty hot summer down here in Arizona, but, then again, when is […]


Cultural Resource Management Archaeology Safety Overkill

That’s right. You read the title correctly. I’m talking about the times when there’s too much safety in CRM. I know I spoke about the lack of safety coverage in most companies and almost all university field programs, but, recently, I learned about a situation where a company is being […]