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Archaeology

View the employability skills

A graduate in archaeology typically will have the ability to:

  • understand the intellectual vitality of archaeology, its theoretical basis and its relationship to other disciplines
  • appreciate the historical, social, cultural, and political context of archaeological interpretation
  • apply scholarly, theoretical, and scientific principles and concepts to archaeological problems
  • use diverse sources of evidence such as excavated, documentary, representational, observational, artefactual, environmental and scientific material
  • appreciate the importance of recovering primary data through practical experience
  • critically apply methodologies for quantifying, analysing, and interpreting primary data
  • understand the concepts and application of scientific methods used in collecting, analysing and interpreting archaeological data
  • interpret spatial data, integrating theoretical models, traces surviving in present-day landscapes, and excavation data
  • practise fieldwork and laboratory techniques
  • select and apply appropriate statistical and numerical techniques
  • marshal and critically appraise other people's arguments
  • produce logical and structured arguments supported by evidence
  • communicate effectively both orally, visually and in writing to diverse audiences
  • use IT, information retrieval and presentation skills effectively in a variety of graphical media
  • execute research, working independently
  • collaborate effectively in a team
  • be sensitive to different cultures and deal with unfamiliar situations
  • be able to critically evaluate one's own and others' opinions.

Archaeology can be defined as the study of the human past through material remains, including evidence in the current landscape, buried material and written sources. It provides a unique perspective on the human past, on what it is to be human. As the only subject that deals with the entire human past in all its temporal and spatial dimensions, it is fundamental to our understanding of how we evolved and how our societies came into being. Archaeology's chronological range is from the earliest hominids to the present day; its geographical scope is both regionally specific and worldwide; its scale of enquiry ranges from distributions and processes of change at the global scale, through to the actions of individuals.

All archaeology degrees are built on the foundation stones of the historical and social, ethical and professional, theoretical and scientific contexts. Throughout its history, archaeology has had a close association with a range of disciplines, initially mainly the humanities but in recent decades increasingly also a broad range of social sciences and sciences. Much teaching in archaeology is therefore multi or interdisciplinary. A key characteristic of archaeological data is time depth, and the ability to examine the effects of process within a tight chronological framework is vital for the study of contemporary concerns, such as human impact on ecosystems.

Permanent posts in archaeology have a low turnover and there are often good candidates with a broad range of experience waiting to apply for posts. The main jobs involving fieldwork are director of archaeological unit, project officer, site supervisor, excavator for an archaeological contractor, county archaeologist, archaeological field officer or inspector of ancient monuments. Other jobs, also of interest, include archaeological conservator, heritage manager, historic buildings inspector, conservation officer, lecturer, curator and museum education officer. The diverse range of skills acquired through an archaeology degree also facilitates graduates entering a diverse range of careers outside of the field.

To check the growing range of resources produced by the Subject Centre to support employability and the use of this profile (including the Skills and Attributes map) go to www.hca.heacademy.ac.uk.

This profile, produced in 2006, is based on the QAA benchmark to be found at www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/honours/default.asp


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