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Specialization in archaeology primarily occurs in graduate school after a student has earned the baccalaureate degree. However, undergraduate courses in the area are offered at the larger universities, and there are usually opportunities to participate in field work at the undergraduate level. A Ph.D. is a prerequisite for those whose objectives include university teaching, and a minimum of three years of academic work beyond the B.A. is required to attain the degree, but the time is almost always considerably longer. In recent years, an emphasis on historic preservation and the need for gaining compliance with federal and state environmental laws has created a demand for individuals with expertise in archaeology, and the masters degree has become more useful. An M.A. can usually be earned in a year or two after the completion of undergraduate programs.
A student contemplating a professional career in archaeology must at some point determine the geographic area and broad time period that are of basic interest. These decisions are required because archaeology is not identified with a single department in universities in the United States. For example, if one's interests are with the literate cultures of Greece, the archaeological specialization customarily will be found in departments of classic and/or fine arts. The growing concern with Colonial Period materials in the United States has led to the development of specialized programs in historical archaeology; these may be found in American studies concentrations, or history, and sometimes in anthropology. American Indian archaeology is usually within anthropology, and prehistoric archaeology generally constitutes one of the major subdivisions in that discipline. The point is that professional training in the United States is generally not undertaken in a department of archaeology, but degrees are earned within academic disciplines where archaeological activities are utilized in the quest for knowledge.
Prehistoric archaeology is very broadly based and, while its primary concern is with cultures of the past, a focus of the social sciences, the nature of the problems faced by the specialist requires familiarity with a wide spectrum of the natural and physical sciences. The importance of statistics in research and the adaptability of the computer to assist in resolving problems in the field and laboratory makes it desirable to have some background in mathematics and computer science. Depending upon one's area of specialization, facility in one or more languages may be required, also. And because archaeological excavation and the interpretation of the data recovered are meaningless until they are transmitted to colleagues and the public in the form of published reports, writing proficiency is a necessity. In brief, there are few areas of human endeavor that are not applicable to one's work. A writer, himself a prehistorian, has described the personal and professional qualities of the ideal archaeologist as follows (Clark 1957:17-18):
Much of the fascination of archaeology indeed resides in its many-sidedness. One can safely say that there are few facilities, experiences, or fields of special knowledge that cannot contribute to or are not stimulated by its pursuit. The
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complete archaeologist, if such a being existed, would need to have a genius for travel, exploration, and reconnaissance; to be adept at business and administration, skilled at raising funds and obtaining all manner of permits from authorities and owners, few of whom can hope to gain from his activities, and capable of administering and directing excavations which may well turn out to be large-scale enterprises; to be a competent surveyor, draughtsman, and photographer, so that what he finds can be adequately recorded; to combine a gift for exact description and analysis with a power of synthesis and a flair for journalism; and to have the gift of tongues, or at very least an ability to digest the reports of his foreign colleagues without which his own will lack the authority that only wide reading and comparison can provide.In addition to all these talents of the market-place, without which even the finest scholarship is likely to prove ineffective in this field, our paragon must be endowed with other qualities of a higher and a rarer order. The fruitful practice of archaeology involves to a unique degree an ability and a willingness to comprehend the aims, methods, and potentialities of fellow-workers in the most diverse branches of both humanistic and scientific study.
The young student planning to specialize in prehistoric archaeology should read as widely as possible. There are a substantial number of relatively inexpensive paperback books that summarize the archaeology of many world areas and outline the methods and techniques used in the field and laboratory. Such commonly available journals as National Geographic and Smithsonian frequently publish articles of interest. Archaeology, a regular publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, and Early Man, the journal of the Center for American Archaeology, Northwestern University, report on current projects and findings and are written for the nonprofessional. At a more technical level, Science and Scientific American can be important sources of information.
Because archaeological sites and collections are common in all parts of the state, it is an easy matter to visit local historical museums and become acquainted with artifact collectors in one's home region. Also, the Wabash Valley Archaeological Society, Indianapolis Amateur Archaeological Association, and Northwest Indiana Archaeological Association, all organizations that encourage a serious involvement in state archaeology, have active programs of lectures and field work, and an individual with serious interest in archaeology can derive enormous benefits from membership.
The high school course program, though archaeology is not offered, should be planned to provide basic background in such diverse areas as language, history, mathematics, geology, geography, biology, physics, and chemistry. English expression is of obvious importance. Also, most high schools have computer hardware and courses for using it effectively. Of course, the program must be designed to meet university entrance requirements.
Assuming an interest in prehistoric archaeology, the university major will likely be in anthropology. Such a major, in addition to providing an opportunity to take courses in archaeology and, perhaps, participating in summer excavations, acquaints the student with the almost infinite variability of human culture and language in all world areas. Human physical evolution and skeletal zoology are also studied. All of these may make direct contributions to an understanding of the materials recovered by the archaeologist. In the large university, additional archaeology offerings may be found in history, classics, or fine arts. And there will be
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innumerable opportunities to take courses applicable to the solution of problems faced in the field and laboratory, e.g., cartography, remote sensing, photography, Pleistocene geology, palynology, etc. Also, the faculty in archaeology is usually involved in research, and the student may have opportunities to provide laboratory assistance as a volunteer.
A few individuals with strong undergraduate records. particularly when much field and laboratory experience has been included, have been employed on archaeological projects that result from historic preservation efforts. However, these are exceptions and do not offer long-term career opportunities.
Entrance into a good graduate program in archaeology is highly competitive and generally limited to those with superior academic credentials. At least a B+ grade average may be required, though other supporting material such as faculty recommendations, work experience, and, particularly, Graduate Record Examination scores may partially offset a lower grade record.
The M. A. degree is not a prerequisite for earning the Ph. D., and if the latter is the ultimate goal, it is generally recommended that one proceed directly to it, though this is not universal. The recent demand for trained archaeologists to participate in a host of projects resulting from federal and state environmental laws has made the master's degree somewhat more viable than in the recent past, and a number of universities offer programs that prepare archaeologists to work in the historic preservation field. Such courses of study, in addition to providing training in archae- ological content and field and laboratory methodology, relate one's area of expertise to the complex legal and procedural requirements imposed by federal and state bureaucracies that have grown up around historic preservation. Employment opportunities may be present with branches of the federal government (e.g., National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, etc.), state government (e.g., highway commissions, divisions of mining, historic preservation of fices), and university-based and commercial consulting firms that assist clients who must comply with the legal requirements designed to protect archaeological resources. Beginning salaries are in the range of $14,000 to $16,000 a year.
The Ph.D. degree, the terminal degree in the field and a prerequisite for those contemplating a career in teaching and research in archaeology, will be earned in anthropology, if New World prehistory is of basic concern. While specific requirements will vary at individual universities, in addition to archaeology, the student will usually select an inside and an outside minor. The former represents another closely related emphasis within anthropology, such as cultural ecology or physical anthropology. The latter will be selected from a second discipline that complements the primary interest, i.e., geology, geography, paleoecology, area studies, etc. Many of the courses taken will be seminars in which a student selects a problem, researches it, and presents the results in oral and written form for criticism. Also, participation in archaeological field and laboratory research is expected.
Customarily, additional minimal requirements include a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language and competency in a tool skill. The latter may be in mathematical statistics or computer sciences.
Upon the successful completion of about 65 hours of formal course work, a written examination in archaeology and the two minor fields is given. In some cases, an oral examination may follow. Passing these examinations qualifies the student for Ph.D. candidacy and work can then begin on the dissertation, a sign)ficant document representing a major research effort suitable for publication. The degree is granted upon the acceptance of the dissertation by the student's research committee.
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It should be emphasized that, unlike the undergraduate degree, the Ph.D. is not granted simply on the basis of successfully completing a prescribed number of course hours. While 90 semester hours are customarily required, this is only a minimal prerequisite, and much hinges on the initiative and professional involvements of the student.
If all of this appears time-consuming, expensive, and sometimes difficult, be assured that it is, but this should not deter the serious student with an interest in prehistoric archaeology. It is through such efforts that expertise is gained and responsible professional positions are filled. While it is possible to complete Ph.D. programs in three years, five years is not uncommon. Also, it is usually possible to partially subsidize expenses through scholarships, teaching and research assistantships, and participation in field projects. For example, most students are employed on excavations during the summer, and faculty working in foreign areas often can take students with them.
Most prehistoric archaeologists in the United States are affiliated with universities where they teach undergraduate and graduate courses and carry out their research. A number of them are also employed by environmental consulting firms. Others have positions with the federal government, large metropolitan museums, and state historical societies.
The beginning salary for a new Ph.D. in a university situation is in the range of $17,000 to $20~000. Appointments are typically on a ten-month basis, and summer teaching or field work would normally add another 20 percent to income.
Several universities in Indiana have departments of anthropology in which prehistoric archaeology is well represented. These are listed below together with the geographic areas in which they specialize and the degrees offered. Details concerning the individual programs can be obtained by writing to the Department of Anthropology at these institutions.
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana: eastern North America, western Europe; B.A., M.A. or M.S., (Ph.D. or EdD in association with Department of History).
Indiana State University, Terre Haute: eastern North America; B.A.
Indiana University, Bloomington: eastern and western North America, South America, sub-Sahara Africa, Mediterranean; B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne: B.A. (with sociology).
Purdue University, West Lafayette: Middle America; B.A., M.A., Ph.D.