Archeology

This seemed like the appropriate board to ask on. Does anyone know exactly how to go about starting work in the archeology field without a diploma? I currently don't have the means to earn a diploma. I'm not talking about the stuff that obviously requires a diploma like being an actual archeologist but I've always wanted to work on digs and be of use helping to perserve history. I'm wonder if anyone can direct me to paid or voluntary work in this field. I've googled around but mostly get the usual job stuff that doesn't really help much.

If you live in a place with actual archaeological legislation you're fucked, even in my third world country assistants tend to be students, and maybe locals if the excavation's too big. Maybe try to volunteer on an archaological park or get a guide diploma (if archaeologists and historians in your country aren't so poor that they also do this).

Just dig shit up yourself in your free time.

Any amateur fossil hunters on Veeky Forums?

Isn't that illegal?
Not that I care

Oh I probably should have mentioned I am from America. So my best bet would probably be just waiting until I am able to become a student to try to get into it? I always assumed the laborers they hire were typically natives instead of paying to fly out a bunch of people just to dig.

Not on private property

Not illegal. Unless you are trespassing to do it or some shit. My uncle used to do it all the time. Had a lot of interesting shell fish fossils.

They hire mostly natives, but i'm pretty sure that in a country with 300 million people and a lot of tertiary education like the US they can find archaeology students almost everywhere (maybe not Alaska or some other state not so densely populated).

In Europe are they constantly finding ancient stuff all over the place?

Depends on the jurisdiction and obviously ownership of the property.

In my experience with palaeontology and a little archaeology most work is volunteering or student labour. Indeed, with really exciting stuff like dinosaurs there's the opportunity for museums to use those as essentially voluntourism fundraisers and so a lot of digs cost a significant amount of money to participate in. More money floating around does mean there's more opportunities for paid employment at museums particularly with many sites and museums being located in the middle of nowhere which I'm grateful for, not so much on the dig sites though.

In 90% of the inhabited world you could go 2-3 meters deep and find archaeological evidence.

So how would I get into palaeontology/archaeology? Do museums have a desk I can contact to go out to the middle of ass no where to dig in the sand for nothing? I don't mind doing stuff like that, my life has been a little purposeless since I left the military and I just want something I really am interested in helping with to put my efforts toward.

That sounds like a good plan. If you dial the front desk they should be able to direct you. Also relevant quniversity departments.

How I got into it was I went to uni interstate, a couple of blokes in the computer 1+++room were chatting about a cave system near where I'm from, I offered to put them up if they wanted to check it out some time and they shot me an email about a dig which went through a field naturalists group they were involved with, so complete chance basically.

From there I found out about a dinosaur dig, and although I had just missed the rookies day my experience netted me a slot. Then I was able to use all that to net myself a museum job all in the space of about 4 or 5 months.

>1+++room
Oops, must have bumped some keys putting my phone down

Interesting. I'll look into it. Don't know many museums in the florida panhandle but I'm moving to Kentucky soonish maybe so I will probably start looking into it then. Thanks for the advice user.

Did you work in the archives of the museum?

Mostly tour guiding, racked up a fair bit of fossil prep by the end of the contract. Good variety in terms of other odd jobs.

You go ask to work as a volunteer at some excavation site.

If you're a britbong, they accept volunteers at one of the forts near Hadrian's wall

i worked as such, unearther about 100+ graves and god knows how many "objects" (holes, canals, small houses, cheramics)

my mother worked in the museum and archeologists were on the lookout for diggers, basicly who do the physical work of removing the top soil and help doing the irrelevant stuff (most of the work is trivial and boring shit unless you work in a historic site, lets say a castle)

so we stubled into some old houses, used for shit, cannals and fences for animals, old sarmatian stuff

i helped and worked to best of my ability so later the archeologists put on more serious duty, eventually i became a trusted worker who can do almost anything, graves included in an old medieval cemetary where you couldnt make a move without knocking on some skulls

everything under the top soil belongs to the state, your property can eat shit

Archaeology student here. Whilst I do know of one person who started off in the field and is now getting their degree later, I think they're the exception and it isn't a likely path these days.

If you just want to give it a whirl quite a lot of bigger digs take on volunteers, try googling for your local area. But as someone else has said you might have to pay for the priviledge.

Also worth thinking about other stuff like metal detecting. Quite a lot of hoards are found by detectorists, just know when you're out of your depth and need to call in a professional. Or aerial photography with drones is a big thing at the moment if that interests you.

But if you can at some point I'd definitely recommend studying it, lots of chances to get out of the library and do shit.

No

Anyone know any good places in Texas?

Is there a board on here where archeology is discussed?

G