I'm a recent chemistry graduate from the Philippines interested in pursuing a career in archaeology. I'm torn between becoming a traditional archaeologist with graduate degrees in archaeology or an archaeological chemist with a Master's in archaeology and a PhD in chemistry. My undergrad chemistry professor advised against pursuing a PhD in chemistry after an archaeology degree, instead pursue a PhD in archaeology. Which path would you recommend, and what are the potential career paths and challenges associated with each?

Hi! I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask this. I am an archeology student at the moment. When I started my degree, I did not know I would obtain a chronic illness. I want to finish my degree and all, but my question is, is there any jobs out there in this field for someone like me who can't do physical labor or stand for too long? I understand that my dream of working in the field is impossible now, but I just want to know if it's worth finishing my degree or not. I currently am out of work because of my disability and am struggling to find a job where I can sit. So I just wanted to know if it's even possible to be in this field and be disabled. Thanks.

Does anyone have any insight into the plumb bobs used by the Inca? In particular, I'm interested in the globe shaped examples that seemed to come in pairs. I saw them in the Museum in Cusco, had a now defunct link to photos, but can no longer find any information online. I believe they're called 'Wipayci' in Quechua.

Any information on the use of 'Tupu', which are a type of pin (often ornamental, as in a cloak pin) when used in construction would also be appreciated.

This is in relation to my work as a stonemason. As you can no doubt appreciate, wading through the woo surrounding this subject makes finding accurate information difficult.

Please ignore the username, it made sense at the time.

Thanks

Timur was known for burying thousands of people alive and making mountains of human skulls. Has any physical evidence of these claims been found?

My daughter, 16, is wanting to become an archeologist. We’re in Oklahoma and she’s currently a junior in high school. Any tips for her while she’s still in high school? What degree would she be looking at for college? What I’m seeing when we research is getting a bachelors in anthropology and then field school for archeology. Is that correct?

Any tips or guidance is appreciated!

I'm volunteering at one coming up (set up, registration desk, etc.) before I head back home for the end of field season. What's the vibe? I know that archaeologists are notorious for dressing down, so I assume it will be more casual than other fields.

Hi all, I recently finished my Undergraduate in Humanities and cultural studies in the US and want to pursue either an archaeology or museum studies MA in the UK. I have acceptance letters from Edinburgh and Glasgow but I get nervous anytime I look deep into the likelihood of finding full time work after graduating. I'm not worried about school costs since I have the Post 9/11 GI Bill but I plan to try and stay in the UK. I keep hearing about new archaeological/construction work which should show more jobs popping up. I know nothing in life is certain but what is the likelihood of finding a life of archaeological work in the UK?

If anyone has personal experiences with this please feel free to comment, I'm just trying to make sure the pathway is there. Thanks.

I don't mind what region or time period they focus on. I'm interested in both objects and locations. They must have pictures and be detailed. It should have it's history, what they think it was used for and so on.

I'm trying to find reports containing scale drawings on the fish salting factory in Almunecar botanical park. I need them for a 3D model I'm trying to create but cannot for the life of me find anything but tourist sites and unrelated articles. Does Spain have an archaeological archive or something similar with this sort of information?

Hi all I have a Harris matrix due and need to write a few hundred words on the importance of the Harris Matrix and Section drawings, any recommendations on sources? Also if any one has any guides for drawing them I would really appreciate advice!

I am planning on doing a field school this summer. I am currently doing my undergraduate degree in Archaeology. My minor is classics and I hope to focus on Ancient Greek archaeology eventually. The two field schools are with IFR, one is the Stobi field school and the other is Pistiros. Stobi focuses on a Roman site and the other a Greek site in Bulgaria. I am conflicted on which to choose because from what I’ve heard the Stobi one is super amazing to work on and is an amazing site. I’ve heard only good things about it from other students that have gone. On the other hand I haven’t heard much about the Bulgarian site and from what I’ve seen online it doesn’t look as interesting. The curriculum is pretty similar from what I can tell. Would it be a big deal if I chose the Roman site over the Greek even though I’m more interested in continuing towards a Greek focus? Has anyone been to either of these? I specifically want to go through IFR because it offers credits that get applied to my current degree without any hassle.

https://ifrglobal.org/program/bulgaria-pistiros/

https://ifrglobal.org/program/north-macedonia-stobi/

I'm thinking about wearing a Halloween costume in the field. I've never had to go out on Halloween before - does anyone else ever dress up? What do you dress as, or do you want to dress as? What issues come with wearing a costume? Or am I just nuts for thinking this would be a good idea?

I was thinking about going as roadkill (which would be especially funny with my high-vis vest) but couldn't find a ratty, fake fur coat. I'm definitely going to bring candy to hand out to the crew.

Since Halloween is a very American holiday and there's lots of Archaeologists here from other countries, I want to hear from you too. Have you ever worn a costume in the field? What did you wear, or what would you if you did?

My question to archaeologists: do you consider the peopling of Asia being mainly via the IUP Northern route via Central Asia and Altai and than southwards; or do you consider more the southern route disperal and later northwards expansion from SE Asia?

Based on archaeogenetic data, both models are possible: While the “Southern route” origin for East Asians and other East Eurasians is the preferred model among geneticists, a northern route and IUP/EEC hub in the Altai region is also possible, and preferred by some archaeologists based on early IUP micro-blade sites.

According to the “Southern route” model, East Eurasians expanded eastwards into South Asia and rapidly diverged there. Proto East Asians headed into Southeast Asia and than northwards into East Asia. This is also evident in diversity decreasing from South to North. It would imply that the Northern IUP sites were affilated with the Ust'Ishim lineage, which went largely extinct.

A single major migration of modern humans into the continents of Asia and Sahul was strongly supported by earlier studies using mitochondrial DNA, the non-recombining portion of Y chromosomes, and autosomal SNP data [42–45]. Ancestral Ancient South Indians with no West Eurasian relatedness, East Asians, Onge (Andamanese hunter–gatherers) and Papuans all derive in a short evolutionary time from the eastward dispersal of an out-of-Africa population [46,47]. [...] The HUGO (Human Genome Organization) Pan-Asian SNP consortium [44] investigated haplotype diversity within present-day Asian populations and found a strong correlation with latitude, with diversity decreasing from south to north. The correlation continues to hold when only mainland Southeast Asian and East Asian populations are considered, and is perhaps attributable to a serial founder effect [50]. These observations are consistent with the view that soon after the single eastward migration of modern humans, East Asians diverged in southern East Asia and dispersed northward across the continent.

Yet, there is some archaeologic evidence supporting a dominant “Northern route” for the majority of East Eurasian populations via Central Asia and the Altai mountains, peopling the Tibetan plateau, South, East, and Southeast Asia, as well as contributing significantly to the formation of Oceanians, by absorbing the less successful southern route groups.

Genetic data does not really contradict the northern route. But, so far, mostly only archaeologic papers mention the Northern route as possible route for the peopling of Eastern Asia, while genetic papers usually prefer the Southern route, with rapid divergence happening in the South and Southeast Asian region.

While I deem the southern route more likely, the northern route is an alternative possibility for the EEC. Basal East Eurasians would be located in South-Central Asia/Sistan, evident in such basal lineages in North Central Asia and E.Europe, associated with the IUP dispersal.

Main IUP material (micro blades) is found in the Ust’Ishim site and nearby Altai sites of Kara Bom. It is also found in eastern Europe and NW.China. Adapted IUP material culture (core flakes) is observed in South Asia, East Asia and Oceania.

This can either be interpreted as representing two distinct routes, a northern route (extinct) and a southern route ancestral to modern East Eurasians. Or a main northern route and later adaptions to warmer climate by migrations from the Altai Hub.

Graphical representation of the Northern and Southern route models (genarchivist):

https://preview.redd.it/4twe2ysghnwd1.png?width=4618&format=png&auto=webp&s=f2fbb28d862119b205aa156a6cb3b88d05dba6a0

qpGraph (Vallini et al.):

In both cases, Papuans likely have partial ancestry from a deeper East Eurasian lineage which near trifuricated from EEC and Ust'Ishim/BK, after their expansion from the Eurasian Hub on the Persian plateau (Vallini et al. 2024)

IUP material culture in East Asia:

https://preview.redd.it/3snyemyp5xvd1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=863053af421b70965cb36b5f204358e1497ff913

Note the distinction of micro-blades and Core and flake sites. Some argue it is adaption to warmer climate, while others argue Core and flakes are associated with the southern route, while the northern route went extinct/absorbed by the dominant southern route. Notably, the 40k Tianyuan specimen co-ancestral to modern East/Southeast Asians is found among a Core and flake site. Core and flakes are also evident in SE Asia and Australia.

Two relevant studies on these different views: Infectious diseases may have arrested the southward advance of microblades in Upper Palaeolithic East Asia and After the blades: The late MIS3 flake-based technology at Shuidonggou Locality 2, North China.

As such, my question is what do archaeologists think on that matter?

Hi all! I haven't really used Reddit frequently (this is a bit of a throwaway account lol) so forgive me if I'm in the wrong forum for this, but I am just starting out my first ever field tech position in CRM. I am very excited, but it is a little daunting, and I was wondering if folks here would have advice. I have a few specific questions in mind, but any advice is appreciated!

1. What are some tips for managing the physical toll of the work? I have been stretching before and after the day and using heating pads + tiger balm and that's been pretty helpful, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to get compression gloves for example.
2. Tips on getting faster at trench digging? I'm fairly comfortable with sifting and I can dig trenches neatly-ish, but I haven't figured out how to dig quickly.
3. How do you figure out meals? I've been meal-prepping/buying groceries so i can make my own for the most part, are there best ways to do that?

I think most of these will come with time, but I figure if I can get a bit ahead of the game it might help. Thank you so much! Edit: thanks all for the advice!

I've worked in BC archaeology for 11 years and am interested in meeting anyone who does this work in Quebec. Is the work condicted in french? Are there historical excavations? Any insights much appreciated.