Bioarchaeologists hunt for disease in skeletons. Click for more detail.

Being an Archaeologist

Why does Indiana Jane like being a bioarchaeologist? Because discovery is exciting. Some archaeologists travel to far-off lands to dig, but many work right in your home town. We need archaeologists everywhere, to protect the land and bones of our ancestors or the things that our ancestors left behind, known as artifacts.

Archaeologists have the power to explore. This is a big responsibility. Archaeologists need years of training and education. They learn how to respect ancient remains and protect them.

Archaeologists must get permission before digging or even picking up an artifact from the ground. The archaeology team’s job is to put together a giant puzzle, piecing together all of the things ancient people left behind. Much of this is now buried underground.

An archaeological team excavates (digs up) a skeleton from the Danish Viking Age. Image by Linea Melchior, Toomas Kivisild, Niels Lynnerup, and Jørgen Dissing.

When the puzzle is complete, we learn fascinating stories about the way people lived.  

Do you know what tools archaeologists use when exploring the past? Find out here. 

Remember, if you see an artifact when hiking or exploring, the best thing to do is leave it behind. It is not only the law, but taking an artifact is like removing a piece of the archaeologist’s puzzle that will never be found, leaving holes in the story. Everyone has the power to help protect the past and the ancestors who lived before us.

Fully excavated skeleton via Wikimedia Commons by Hamed Saber.