(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 more PhDs than a university anthropology department. Sometimes this is reflected in the quality of the CRM reports that are cranked out for major archaeology projects. Sometimes its seen through the mistake-plagued, but good-intentioned projects we hear about through the grapevine.
In general, CRM work down here tends to be more ambitious and better executed than most of the reports I see from other states. This is not the case with all firms in southern Arizona, but it is very common for everybody working on a field project—the techs, supervisors, and PIs—to all have graduate degrees. Frequently multiple PhDs collaborate together on the same project as field crew.
I believe this is a major factor in the high quality of contract archaeology that can be found in the state. It’s also the source of our narcissism.
The School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona has been celebrating its centennial throughout 2015 with several events including a series of workshops on the status of anthropology and archaeology in today’s world. I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop called “The Future of CRM” at the Emil Haury Building on December 4, 2015. It was an enlightening experience to meet in the same room with six of the most esteemed University of Arizona alums who have decades of combined experience in CRM archaeology.
I’ve decided not to reveal the names of this cast of characters, but I would like to say their experiences include all levels of cultural resource management, government administration, and academia. These professionals teach, blog, and conduct community outreach in addition to publishing peer-reviewed articles, books, and technical reports. It was truly a brain trust of CRM archaeology that answered four main questions:
1) How did you get started? (Part 1)
2) What changes have you seen in CRM since the 1970s? (Part 2)
3) What is the future of CRM? (Part 3a)
4) What advice do you have for aspiring CRM archaeologists? (Part 3b)
I will address the first question in this post. You’ll have to keep reading to see what they had to say in about the other questions.
Multiple Paths to Unconventional Careers
It was interesting to hear the different ways each of the six panelists came to be where they are currently. From the single mom struggling to support herself and her own mother while finishing grad school to the careerist who left CRM to teach the next generation of contract archaeologists, all of the panelists took long, circuitous routes while constantly keeping the end goal in mind: Being an archaeologist who does great research. These folks worked sites around the world and across the United States before finally landing in the Southwest.
The six panelists’ career paths all had several similarities:
They all had PhDs— Although they didn’t say this in the telling of their career paths, it was very clear that you need a graduate degree if you want to have a long career in CRM archaeology. And, you will probably need a PhD if you want to break into the highest levels (at least in the Southwest you will). All six of these panelists had already completed their doctorates, many of whom finished over a decade ago. Nearly all of the panelists started doing CRM in grad school, although some were getting paid to do archaeology in middle school. Imagine telling your mom to drop you off a few blocks away from the site so the other archaeologists don’t see how young you really are!
Why did all of these careerists get a PhD? I can think of two main reasons:
1) Intellectual rigor— It was clear in throughout the discussion that the panelists thrived on the intellectual rigor that doing CRM offers. Several times I heard them remark that, in CRM archaeology, you learn something new every day. The desire to learn was central to who these folks were as individuals and as professionals.
There is a pervasive ethos among undergraduates that you are simply in college to get a degree so you can get a “good” job. The education is simply a means to an end; it’s just something you need in order to be successful. “Real life” will provide stimulation but college is something that should simply be endured.
Graduate students choose to attend school because they want the opportunity to experience learning at a higher level. Grad school is rigorous and, at a certain point, every grad student is forced to use their grey matter, which is not always necessary as an undergrad. Fortunately, this intellectual expansion is a major reason why grad students choose to go further in college.
2) To shatter any possible glass ceilings— In CRM, the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for archaeology require a graduate degree as the, “…minimum education and experience required to perform identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment activities.” They also indicate additional experience may be needed depending upon the complexity of tasks and nature of the historic properties under evaluation. In a nutshell, large and potentially exciting projects can only be led by somebody with education and experience. Also, the Sec. of Interior’s standards state an archaeologist needs to demonstrate their ability to complete research.
There is only so far an undergraduate degree in anthropology will take a CRMer. Eventually, we all face opportunities where only a graduate degree will do. Few companies will promote a CRMer without a grad degree much higher than field director because they do not meet the qualifications to lead projects that require the Sec. of Interior’s standard. This is the most obvious glass ceiling in CRM archaeology.
The PhDs held by the workshop panelists is overkill for now, but I believe the rampant degree inflation in archaeology will make it so that, someday, every CRM manager will have to have a PhD.
They all took advantage of opportunities— In every account I heard how each of these pros took advantage of the opportunities placed in their path. From relocating across the country to become a technical editor of archaeology texts to taking the wife and kids to the middle of nowhere New Mexico for a job opportunity, each of these individuals had made sacrifices to take their careers to the next level. Success was not guaranteed with these moves but there was a sense of duty: “If I want to succeed in cultural resource management, this is what I’m going to have to do.”
Oftentimes, these moves went in completely different directions than was originally planned. Sometimes, the move was a disaster that caused introspection, reflection, and a change of plans. No matter what, these people rolled with the punches and are still in the field.
This is a common theme for every archaeologist I know. We’ve all leapt out into the open expanse and plummeted to our success or failure. It seems like this is the way it’s always been in cultural resource management. What I learned is, regardless of what happens, you will have to take a chance while also staying true to your convictions in order to keep your career moving forward.
They (almost) all teach college— Who says college professors don’t do cultural resource management archaeology? If you’ve heard that your source is mistaken.
Five of the six panelists are either adjunct/associate professors or currently teach at an institute of higher learning. Most of these individuals occasionally teach classes in addition to their CRM duties while others left CRM after lengthy careers in order to teach. Those who do teach because they care about helping train the next generation of CRMers.
It was eye-opening to learn that you can still teach while also maintaining a career in cultural resource management. I understood that professors occasionally took on compliance work as part of their research obligations, but I was impressed to hear about so many CRMers who take on teaching as part of their own personal duty to help improve the industry.
The role of CRMers in training the next generation is absolutely crucial if we are to keep the industry relevant to American society in the future. It’s awesome to see that some folks are already doing this and have been for a long time.
The Mesoamerica connection—I don’t know if it’s the Indiana Jones Complex that pervades North American archaeology or what but most of the panelists had some sort of Mesoamerica connection. Either they’d worked there as graduate students, had a fascination with the region they planned on pursuing after graduation, or were Mesoamerican specialists for a period of time. I don’t know what it is about getting chewed up by bugs in the hot, humid jungles that attracts archaeologists, but I know it’s not my shtick.
Needless to say, none of these pros still work in Mesoamerica. Few of them even volunteer down there. Maybe Mesoamerican dreams wear off. Perhaps the competition is too fierce and its hard to make a living digging down there. The panelists never explained why but they no longer dig in the Mayan/Aztec/Olmec heartland.
How does anyone become an archaeologist?
A plethora of resources can be found floating around the internet that purportedly explain the steps necessary to become an archaeologist. Some of these resources are excellent, such as the blog post “Tips for Undergraduates Interested in Archaeology” on the Habits of a Traveling Archaeologist blog. Some are so generic they’re almost irrelevant like the FAQs for Students Page on the Society for American Archaeology website or “How to become an archaeologist in 5 steps” on Learn.org.
The best way to find out what you’ve got to do in order to become a successful archaeologist is to contact somebody who is already doing what you want to do in archaeology and ask them to be your mentor (one of the reasons why the Traveling Archaeologist blog post is so spot on). Actually, an even better plan is to ask 5 people who currently do what you want to do and ask them all to be your mentor. The benefit of dueling mentors is you get a number of different ideas, recommendations, and examples of success that you can compare and contrast. As long as your mentors are legit, more data is better in this case.
Finding a mentor is something I never did until I was in graduate school and it resulted in me working as a janitor for months after I’d finished my graduate degree. I didn’t listen to anyone because I thought I knew everything I needed to know. But, finding a job in archaeology is not like landing a position at Starbucks. Competition is fierce for the few jobs out there. You need to learn how to network, strategize, and be convincing.
Listening to experienced professionals in cultural resource management archaeology is one way to shorten the learning curve. Hearing the stories of how these veterans landed and kept their jobs can give you invaluable experience that you can apply to your own career.
Please keep the conversation going. Write a comment below or send me an email.
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