I want to be an archaeologist, but dont know were to start.?

Question

Im 14

Answer 1

Grab a shovel and dig...

Answer 2

Be ready for lots of school. Research universities, feild schools, and summer internship programs. You will also want to figure out a minor if not several that are useful adn can relate to archeology.

Answer 3

It's great to see a person as young as yourself starting to seriously think about your future.  As long as you are in Middle School, and have a while ahead of you in High School, here is what I will suggest:  First off, learn to write properly - this is a huge plus at any point.  SO many people have no idea what proper grammer or punctuation is and end up totally relying on spellcheck.  Secondly, take as many other languages as you can - for Archaeology it depends what you are interested in... but for a standard Classical program, starting off with a working knowledge of at least one of the following - French, German, Latin, or Greek is a GREAT start.  I think most High Schools offer at least a french or german.  If you are interested in Something in central or South America, Spanish would be a huge plus.  The reason French and German are important is that for much of the history of Archaeology, many of the great explorer/archaeologists were French or German, and there is a large volume of information in those languages.  Oh, the other thing while you are at school, make sure you have a firm grasp on the metric system as real scientists use that, and not feet and inches.  I know it may seem funny but remember that the US is the ONLY country in the world to still use such a screwed up system of measurement.  

The third thing I would do is if you have a national park or national forest somewhere around you, see if they have a passport in time program that is active.  This is somewhere you can go and volunteer and help out with an archaeological dig - sometimes right in your own backyard without having to pay for a field school.  It's a great way to see if Archaeology really is what you want to get into (It certainly isn't hollywood).  If you go to something like that, definitely bring at the very least a pair of leather work gloves.

In a few years when you start looking into colleges, look for ones that offer a program that you want to study - remember you are paying them to teach you, not paying to sit through things you have no interest in.  Go and talk to professors and Department Chairs, see if they have a field school they are associated with, and what kinds of experience you can get through them.  Some schools offer degrees in Anthopology with Archaeology as a subfield, while others actually offer Archaeology as a major itself.  They are both legitamite, though the Anthropology ones will probably tend to focus more on American archaeology (native americans and early americans) while some Archaeology programs may focus more on Classical archaeology about Greece, Rome, Egypt etc.  

A word about jobs - some people will say that the only thing you can do with an Archaeology or Anthropology degree is flip burgers - thats a total lie... the only time you have to do that is if you have no intention of travling or applying yourself.  If you really want something, and you chase after it, you will get it.  It's a bit early to really be worried about this aspect of things as we need to be flexible and jobs are always coming and going.  Check out the links provided for more info.  shovelbums.org is a great place to take a look at the current aspects for archaeology jobs in America.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about any of this.

Answer 4

First you would have to go to university and study anthropology, specifically physical anthropology.

Answer 5

if i may make a suggestion: it would be a good idea go try out a field school to make sure archaeology is what you really want to be doing with your life. if you live in the u.s. check out crow canyon field school in Cortez, colorado. i dont know if you are in high school but once you are you can get into their high school field school program. its about three weeks long and you get to participate in a dig and labwork. its great to see if its really what you wanna do. i went and it made me 100% sure its what i wanted to do. however, some of my friends from there decided it wasnt what they thought it was and changed their minds.

its a good idea to give it a shot before you go to school for it. that way you dont spend thousands of dollars on a career you hate.

Answer 6

I'm an Anthropology major at Hartwick college in Oneonta.  I love it.  I'm not personally interested in archaeology for a career but I am taking an archaology class next semester with my advisor who is an archaeologist himself, so it's pretty cool.  Becoming an anthropology major is a great start.  We have an archaeology field school program here every other summer, so when you're looking at colleges I would keep archaeology field work that like in mind.

Answer 7

When you get ready for college you will need to apply to a university that offers that degree program. It wouldn't hurt to get online and begin researching those colleges right now and asking them questions and expressing your interest. David