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Archaeology & You

"Doing" Archaeology

Until recently, the only way for most people to become involved directly in a professional archaeological study was to enroll in a college course on archaeology that involved field or lab work. Now there are many other such opportunities available; they can be found in…

Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin
Archaeological Institute of America
Located at Boston University
656 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Tel: (617) 353-9361
E-mail: aia@aia.bu.edu

Additional opportunities are becoming available for people who would like to participate in professionally supervised archaeological investigations and are willing to spend time, and in some cases money, doing so. The travel guides published annually in Archaeology magazine include openings for volunteers in excavations, surveys, or lab work. The following are the private organizations that provide such opportunities:

Some local governments are establishing programs led by professional archaeologists that include substantial participation by volunteers. Interested individuals should contact their local parks, historic-preservation offices, planning departments, or museums to check on such opportunities.

Agencies of federal, state, and tribal governments are organizing similar opportunities. For example, the U.S. Forest Service has begun a nationwide program called "Passport in Time," which invites the public to participate in Forest Service archaeological and historic-preservation projects throughout the country. These projects are supervised by professionals. Write to

Passports in Time Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 31315
Tucson, AZ 85751-1315
E-mail: pit@sricrm.com

To find out what else is available, contact the state archaeologist, the state historic-preservation office, and archaeologists in public agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers, Forest Service, and National Park Service.

For additional information on ways you can participate in archaeology visit:

Last Modified: Wednesday March 24 2004