How Do You Organize An Archaeological Dig?
If digging through dirt, sifting sand through screens and taking endless photographs of pottery shards sounds like high adventure to you, consider organizing an archaeological dig. You’re more likely to find broken bits of artifacts than the lost ark, but meticulous planning will prepare you for discoveries large and small. Major in anthropology in college and plan to spend six to 12 weeks of your junior or senior year in field school (translation: days and days of digging). Follow with a graduate degree and then a year or so of basic experience (translation: more digging, usually under hot sun or in dense underbrush, for miserable wages). Now you’re ready to organize a dig–at least, as long as you’re not planning to ask for federal funding, which would necessitate your publishing a thesis and becoming a member of the Register of Professional Archaeologists (rpanet.org). Select a site and develop a research design–a statement of what you are trying to learn, not just what artifacts a
