A project archaeologist oversees archaeological projects, including planning and managing field operations, directing excavations, writing progress reports, and serving as a liaison between field workers and management teams. They aim to preserve and document important sites and artifacts to understand the history and cultural heritage of a region.
A project archaeologist is responsible for overseeing archaeological projects. This type of archaeologist may oversee archaeological excavations and projects for a government agency, corporation, or cultural resource management company. An archaeologist in this position would be responsible for some fieldwork, but more often would assume responsibility for planning and managing archaeological field operations. Like archaeologists in general, a project archaeologist’s primary task is to preserve and document important sites and artifacts to understand the history, anthropology, and cultural heritage of a region.
One responsibility of a project archaeologist is to plan and direct complex archaeological excavations. Sometimes these excavations are done because the site will soon be the site of a new building. Other times, they are carried out at the request of the government or a cultural resource management company. The project archaeologist must hire and supervise competent field archaeologists and other workers; sometimes he can also multitask, managing several excavations at the same time. Conditions such as weather, funding, project requirements, and worker availability can change quickly, so an archaeologist in charge of projects must be able to handle these changes flexibly and effectively.
Another aspect of being a project archaeologist is writing progress reports on the projects he is responsible for. Reports and documentation are maintained throughout projects and at project completion. A final report is almost always required by the company or organization requesting the project. Additionally, this type of archaeologist must ensure that workers accurately catalogue, classify, document and place the historical context of excavated sites and artifacts. The artifacts found can go into a museum or be kept at the dig site, which can be open to the public as a historic landmark.
Another important task for which a project archaeologist is usually responsible is to serve as a link or liaison between archaeologists and field workers and the management team of the organization funding the project. The archaeologist responsible for projects must be able to maintain communication between field workers and the management team with ultimate responsibility for the project. He must be able to provide workers with guidance that is consistent with the objectives and goals of the project guidelines provided by the organization requesting the excavation or project.
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