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You too can become an Archaeologist- 23-Jun-2011
Archaeology (from greek arkhaios, "ancient"; and -logia, "logy, is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artefacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes (the archeaological records).
Since archaeology employs a wide range of different procedures, it can be considered to be both a science and a humanity.
Archaeology facilitates in the reconstruction of history. It gives life to the past with the aid of scientific tools. Archaeology was first used by Romans in the eighteenth century.
Archaeology reached its perfection when it was used by Heinrich Schleimann to bring to light the history of the Greeks.
Whats the task of an Archaeologist? : An archaeologist is someone who studies people and what they did in the past from the things they left behind. An archaeologist looks for artifacts (objects made by people) that will reveal more about the past. Artifacts can be many different things. Numismatics, Museology (the diachronic study of museums) are some of the branches of archaeology.
Eligibility criteria: Archaeology is a career for those having an acute interest and training in culture and history. It is good for candidates to have a background of ancient history and culture. The basic eligibility criteria for Bachelor course in History/ Archaeology (i.e B.A level) of three-year duration, is 10+2 or equivalent. After graduation one can opt for a Post Graduate Diploma or Degree course in Archaeology.
Graduates in History in any stream with an aggregate of 55% marks can apply for Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma or Post graduation (MA/ M.Sc.) in different fields of Archaeology.
Job opportunities: In fact, many job openings are there for archaeologists such as in colleges, universities, museums, state and central governments and private companies. The career one can opt for depends upon the level of education and experience required in the particular field of archaeology. Depending upon the educational qualification and experience, one can work as faculty in universities, colleges or community colleges. It is also possible to work as a field archaeologist in universities or with cultural resource firms that conduct archaeological research. There are job openings in public museums or university museums. The positions for archaeologists in museums include curator, archivist or technician. Their common goal is to acquire, preserve and display the important artifacts in the museum.
Institutions providing Archaeology: Chennai University, Pondicherry University, Banaras University Varanasi, Ajmer University Rajasthan, Patna University, Punjab University, Allahabad University.
