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Who is a Archaeologist?
Archaeology holds all the keys to understanding who we are and where we come from ~ Sarah Parcak
We have all heard about ancient civilisations like the Harappan, Greek, and Chinese cultures. But how do we know so much about them today? The answer lies with archaeologists. These experts carefully uncover and study remains from the past to reveal stories of human history. Alongside archaeologists, anthropologists help by analysing human activities through recovered objects and artefacts.
A career in archaeology involves discovering and examining objects, structures, and sites to understand the economic, social, political, and cultural life of past societies. Archaeologists plan and conduct research to answer questions about ancient cultures. This article covers key details like archaeologist salaries in India, career paths, and how to become an archaeologist after 12th grade.
Archaeologist in a Nutshell
An archaeologist studies human history by excavating and analysing artefacts, structures, and other remains. Their work helps reconstruct past societies and cultures. Key tasks include fieldwork, lab analysis, documentation, and research. Skills needed are analytical thinking, attention to detail, and communication.
Quick Facts for Archaeologist
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Average Salary in India
₹62500
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Suitable for
Male, Female, Others
The career as an archaeologist is gender-neutral. Anyone with an interest in history and its culture, and traditions can choose to make a career as Archaeologist. Curiosity pays no attention to gender. Anyone with a deep interest in history, culture, monuments, and societies can become an archaeologist. The history of archaeology is filled with numerous examples of men and women who contributed to this field of science in major proportion.
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Any special needs
Yes
When it comes to making a career as an archaeologist, it is a field that requires you to be physically and mentally active as you are required to perform on-field tasks and research. However, exceptions exist. There are people with slight physical disabilities who are working as archaeologists. Hence, anyone with a strong desire to become an excavator can surely excel in the field.
Table of Contents for Archaeologist
What is the role of Archaeologist?
In the career as an archaeologist, one performs many tasks which include developing data collection methods and systems tailored to a particular speciality or project and collecting information. An excavator obtains all such information through observations, interviews, and documents, recording and managing records of observations taken in the field via GPS or GIS and other proprietary software.
An individual in the archaeologist career path analyses data, laboratory samples, and other sources of information to uncover patterns about human life, culture, and origins, preparing reports and presenting research findings, and communicating with team leads, managers, and IT staff through regular, scheduled field status reports and presentations. It includes research findings, engaging in field surveys, testing, monitoring, and data recovery, advising organisations on the cultural impact of policies, programs, and products, professional report and site form preparation, research, and literature reviews.
Research work
The role of Archaeologist is to study the ways in which people of the past interacted with their world. He or she also conducts field investigations of historic and prehistoric sites, which can take place almost anywhere in the world. The work of archaeologists provides information about the past and is essential to preservation efforts.
Management
The role of Archaeologist is to manage the logistics of projects at the sites, overseeing the collection of artefacts. He or she is responsible to analyse artefacts, conducting tests, undertaking research and writing reports. Archaeologists use a variety of digging and extraction techniques, from hand tools such as trowels and pick-axes to heavy machinery such as bulldosers.
Collect data
Archaeologist collects data at a site by taking photographs, measurements and soil samples. They also make sketches and maps. Archaeologists are required to share information by writing and lecturing, and by serving as curators for museums and historical sites. Many archaeologists also work as professors at colleges and universities.
Use of software
Using a variety of methods, archaeologists locate suitable excavation sites, including geophysical surveys and aerial photography. Archaeologists also use computer applications such as computer-aided design (CAD) and geographical information systems (GIS) to record and interpret sites and findings and to produce simulations of how they might have looked in the past.
Archiving
Archivists assemble, catalogue, preserve and manage valuable collections of historical information. They are required to work with a wide variety of public and private sector organisations, and, once qualified, may move between a variety of organisations, roles and specialisations.
Types of a Archaeologist
When it comes to a career as an archaeologist there are several fields of archaeology present for a candidate to choose from. We have mentioned some of the types of Archaeologist or archaeologist career options below.
Museum Education Officer: A museum education officer is an individual who looks after the activities of a museum. Museum education is required to give lectures, give tours of the museum, conduct workshops, and other educational activities.
Documentation Specialist: As a documentation specialist the individual is required to study documents of past cultures and societies. The said individual also compiles and keeps these records in order.
Museum/Gallery Curator: As a museum curator, one is required to be responsible for all the museum exhibits. The primary responsibility of a museum curator is to find and develop methods through which various objects of the past, archives, and art and artefacts can be interpreted.
Heritage Manager: Heritage managers are those professionals who manage and conserve historical sites, such as buildings, forts, ancient monuments, and landscapes. They look after these sites so that visitors can enjoy these places of historical significance.
Historic Building Officer: A historic building officer works for the preservation of historical sites and monuments. The job role also includes promoting the conservation of places and items of historical significance. Read further to know about how to become archaeologist after 10th.
Contract Archaeologist: Contract archaeology is archaeological investigations and excavations conducted under commercial contracts, in areas endangered by exploitation and construction. Contract archaeology is also known as rescue archaeology, salvage archaeology, development-lead archaeology or commercial archaeology. In contrast to research-led excavations, contract archaeologists are required to conduct their work under very strict deadlines.
The primary purpose of contract archaeology is to document ancient remains that will be destroyed or damaged due to exploitation. The purpose is also to collect and preserve archaeological findings, produce new archaeological knowledge and mediate findings and new knowledge to the general public.
Collections Manager: Collection managers are required to manage proper object handling and for instructing or supervise other staff members, researchers, interns, and volunteers on proper procedures. They are also required to monitor the condition and environment of objects in storage and on exhibit, rotating sensitive objects off exhibit as needed.
Cultural Resources Specialist: Cultural Resources Specialists are required to do this is typically a full-time job. It can be confined to regular business hours, but this becomes less likely during times when an archaeologist works in the field. Fieldwork can involve weekends, early mornings, and late evenings, project studies and surveys, construction monitoring, archaeological excavation, and associated fieldwork.
They also manage field investigations, field surveys, and project studies for the presence of cultural resources which includes conducting construction monitoring activities, archaeological excavation, artifact identification, and other various project-related activities.
Historic Preservation Officer: The Historic Preservation Officer is a person who is responsible for enforcing the historic preservation ordinance, and for providing staff assistance in the implementation of the policies, goals, and programs of the Historic Preservation Commission.
The roles and responsibilities of a historic preservation officer include developing, recommending, implementing, and evaluating city policy related to historic preservation, and providing technical, architectural, design, historical, and policy guidance to staff, governmental officials, other city departments, boards and commissions, and regional, state, and national preservation agencies.
What is the workplace/work environment of Archaeologist like?
In a career as an archaeologist, candidates are employed by a span of organisations in various industries. Many of the assignments in practical archaeology are performed by independent archaeological field units or trusts. These vary in size and may be related to local authorities, museums, universities or independent commercial organisations, trusts or charities. Hence, the excavator work environment for each one of them differs depending upon their roles and responsibilities, the projects assigned to them, the geographical area they are working in, and the industry they work for.
Does Archaeologist require travelling?
Not Likely
In the career as an archaeologist, travelling depends on the roles and responsibilities and the project of individual archaeologists. Employees whose research areas are not near where they live may be required to travel to conduct surveys, excavations, and laboratory analyses. On the other hand, many archaeologists do not travel that much. This holds true for some excavator jobs in federal and state government, museums, parks and historic sites.
Employment Shifts
Full Time
An individual in the archaeologist career path is typically required to work full-time. It can be confined to regular working hours, but this becomes less likely during times when an archaeologist works in the field. Fieldwork can even involve weekends, early mornings, and late evenings in an anthropologist career. Depending on the project one is working on, archaeologists might be required to work in certain shifts. The requirement of the project decides the various factors like environment details, time details, and shift details.
Employment Nature
Permanent
In the field of archaeology, you have two options: either you go for the government sector or you can go to the private sector. Hence, talking about the growth and salary at the initial level in the Indian government sector is way better than the private sector. Whereas it depends on the private sector with whom you are working. You can get a normal career start with around Rs. 10000 starting salary. But in this sector, you can grow as an excavator to how much, you never know.
Work Place
On-Field
In a career as an archaeologist, one spends a lot of time researching and finding new facts about the artefacts. These excavators spend a lot of time in the field because they have to go through excavation and analyse the ground report. Some of the archaeologists spend their time inside the labs and perform research and testing.
An individual in the archaeologist career path also works in museums where their anthropology roles can include the identification, explanation and curation of artefacts, as well as research. They also work in teaching and research institutions performing various roles like lecturing, technician and research posts at universities with archaeology courses.
Presence in Geographical Area
Rural, Semi-urban, Urban
Archaeology needs a lot of fieldwork and that may include all kinds of terrains. Sometimes they have to work on a rock field then sometimes they have to work beneath the ocean. It all depends on the kind of work an excavator is doing and the scale of the work also matters a lot. If you are a government employee, you may be posted to any part of the country on the basis of the project assigned to you and the position of your job. The same applies to private archaeologists only that they might need to live at their own expense.
Time Pressure
Likely
In the career of an archaeologist, candidates are typically required to work full-time. It can be confined to regular working hours, but this becomes less likely during times when an archaeologist works in the field. Fieldwork can even involve weekends, early mornings, and late evenings. During situations like these, archaeologists might face some time pressure.
Overtime Details
Typically, in a career as an archaeologist, candidates are required to work as per their allotted schedule. However, depending on the project one is working on, archaeologists might be required to work in certain shifts. The requirement of the project decides the various factors like environmental details, time details, and shift details for anthropologists. If the project demands, they might be required to work overtime. Scroll down to read how to become archaeologist in India.
Weekly Hours of Work
Min 35 Hours
Archaeologists usually work the regular nine-to-five shift or eight hours. Work hours can increase depending on the nature of the work or the project. If there is a deadline to be met for a company, archaeologists sometimes work extra hours. Individuals who opt for a career as archaeologists work overtime, depending upon the roles and responsibilities they are required to work for.
How to become a Archaeologist?
Steps to become a Archaeologist
If you are interested in ancient history and want to research the human past using material remains such as artefacts, objects, and specimens, then being an archaeologist is the best career option for you. Below, we have mentioned the steps for how to become archaeologist after 12th or how to become archaeologist after 10th.
What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Archaeologist?
Many people wonder how to become an archaeologist in India? is archaeologist a good career or how to become an archaeologist without a degree? we have all the answers to your questions but before that, you must know that apart from the education required to become an archaeologist one must possess some skills. Here, we will discuss how to become an archaeologist.
Creativity: When it comes to a career as an archaeologist, the profession demands one to be creative and exhibit it in his or her work. The power of imagination is what one needs to succeed in this field. The ability to visualise a project, the capability to be open to new ideas or ways of looking at things, the curiosity to envision the potential in a place, the ability to imagine multiple scenarios, and most importantly, the ability to think three-dimensionally. These are a few creative skills that one needs to acquire in order to become a sage Archaeologist.
Managerial skills: In a career as an archaeologist, candidates are responsible to control, plan, and manage the overall strategy while working on any project. In addition to these, one must have excellent organisational skills. It is one of the important managerial skills. It helps them to determine the list of pending tasks, combine them into jobs, and group jobs into units giving a form to the organisation’s structure. It is an important skill for several other careers as well, like a manager, engineer, or doctor.
An eye for detail: When it comes to a career as an archaeologist, the job requires one to be precise and detail-oriented towards the work you are doing. This skill helps one to notice small but important details that others might not notice. It is helpful to have an eye for detail while researching for ancients. Paying attention to details is a skill that needs to be acquired and just like other skills and just like other skills for an excavator career.
Analytical skills: Having strong analytical skills is worthless if archaeologists cannot share their analysis with others. In a career as an archaeologist, one must be an effective communicator who can explain the patterns that they observe in things around them. Sometimes, an excavator would be required to explain information orally in a meeting or presentation. Other times, an archaeologist might be required to write a report. Hence, lacking communication skills is non-negotiable in the field of archaeology.
Communication skills: Being able to communicate properly will not only help the archaeologists professionally but also personally. In the career of archaeologists, communication skills are important as they need to speak appropriately with a wide variety of people whilst maintaining good eye contact. It ensures that an archaeologist is able to manage interactions and businesses and organisations.
Empathy: In a career as an archaeologist, one must incorporate planning, execution, and implementation procedures within a broader sustainability framework. An excavator job involves internalising the externalities of a project. It is the responsibility of archaeologists to keep in consideration the social aspects as well as environmental factors that are being affected because of the project. Archaeologists are in charge of finding models compatible with the essence of localities. These models are required by archaeologists to be sustainable, both environmentally and socially.
Project management: An Archaeologist is responsible to initiate, plan, execute, and control the work of a team to achieve specific success criteria at the specified time. The primary goal in the career as an excavator is managing the project to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints such as scope, time, budget, and quality. One must also be able to optimise the allocation of necessary inputs and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives.
Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Archaeologist?
We have mentioned below certifications that individuals may opt to upgrade their skills and certifications for a career as Archaeologist.
Internship Availability
There are various companies that offer archaeology internships to the needed ones who want to make a career as archaeologists. They also offer full-time excavator jobs to those who complete internships from these companies themselves. These companies offer the best career opportunities for graduates in archaeology. The position of an anthropologist intern exposes the future of the Indian archaeology sector.
The aim of internship programmes is to give archaeology students an idea of what it is like to work at various firms associated with the field of archaeology, while also allowing the firms to evaluate the intellect, work ethic, and cultural fit of the students to determine if they want to hire them for permanent positions after they graduate from the colleges. Internships boost your opportunities and also make it easy to find archaeologist jobs. You can apply for the mentioned companies for the internship or you can search for better companies in this industry for your internship programme.
Career Path Progression for Archaeologist
Junior Archaeologist: A Junior Archaeologist is a professional responsible for studying the origin and evolution of humans by excavating. A Junior Archeologist with the help of aerial photography, geographical survey data and historical records, identifies the locations to dig sites.
Senior Archaeologist: A Senior Archaeologist is an experienced professional who trains and leads Junior Archaeologist and others in the team. A Senior Archaeologist uses various methods to locate excavation sites and supervises the work of others involved in the excavation.
Archaeologist Jobs and Salaries
Junior Archaeologist
- Average Salary 26000
Job Description
The Junior Archaeologist job description includes excavating sites, cleaning, separating and cataloguing the found things and carrying out tests. A Junior Archaeologist uses CAD, GIS and some other related softwares to record and interpret the sites and findings.
Salary Description
The average base Archaeologist salary in India is Rs 6,37,247 per year in India. The Junior Archaeologist salary in India may vary depending on the various job factors.
Salary Source: Indeed
Senior Archaeologist
- Average Salary 99000
Job Description
The Senior Archaeologist job description includes carrying out research on artefacts and maintaining written, photographs, drawn records and electronic databases. A Senior Archaeologist develops scientific hypotheses using the analysis of the data and tests the theories by excavating and conducting interviews and coordinating with other experts for further study.
Salary Description
The estimated Senior Archaeologist salary in India with 8+ years of experience, earns an average salary of Rs 15,69,057. Senior Archaeologist salary in India may vary depending on the various job factors.
What is the job outlook for Archaeologist?
The scope of a career as an archaeologist is quite wide. Archaeology has various fields of study like archives, museology, numismatics, and epigraphy. Archaeologists perform various duties like initial fieldwork, excavation of sites, and their categorization besides dating and explanation of excavated objects. In archaeology, the area of their research is related to the cause behind the demise of such early civilizations as the Harappan Civilization in the Indian Subcontinent and the Roman civilization of Europe.
Archaeological research is an important method available for gaining information about history and past societies. When it comes to the career of an archaeologist, it is now growing and constructing its roots in different corporate bodies, too. Archaeologist salary in India are based on various job opportunities, archaeologist skills, and archaeologist qualification.
This trend makes archaeology gratifying and at the same time, a very demanding and challenging career opportunity. Young candidates, who have analytical minds, are creative and logical in thinking, have a flair for little details, and are responsive to the arts, have a good chance to excel in this field. Scroll down to read how to become archaeologist in India.
Frequently Asked Questions for Archaeologist
Que. Who are archaeologists what do they do?
Ans.An archaeologist is one who studies the ancients. They investigate the historic and human remains to understand the kind of culture and life we had.
Que. Is Archaeology a good career?
Ans.It depends on the university affiliation. It is a great field to study and know about the history of humans. One needs to pursue courses like B.A. in History or B.A. in Archaeology from popular colleges. But it is not a very high-paying career.
Que. What is archaeologist salary in India?
Ans.The average monthly salary of an archaeologist in India is Rs. 26,000. One can earn a decent salary in a career as an archaeologist if he or she studies courses like B.A. in History or B.A. in Archaeology from popular colleges like :
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
University of Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru University
University of Mumbai.
Que. Is an archaeologist a scientist?
Ans.Archaeology is the study of humanity's material remains: its buildings, art, everyday objects, trash and even bodies. Archaeologists are scholars who study every facet of their scholarly realm. They are explorers who map out and chart excavation sites. They are scientists who document and verify their findings.
Que. Do archaeologists study fossils?
Ans.Palaeontology is the study of fossils, while archaeology is the study of human artefacts and remains. Palaeontologists uncover and study these fossils, attempting to understand what life was like on Earth long ago for all organisms. Archaeologists do this too but specifically for humans and their history.
Que. What qualifications do you need to be an archaeologist?
Ans.To become an Archaeologist, you will have to complete a bachelor's degree in Archaeology, Anthropology or any other related fields like Geography and History.
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