Careers
Becoming an archaeologist
Garden rollers and trade beads found at Mapungubwe, photograph courtesy Mapungubwe Museum, University of Pretoria
Most professional archaeologists begin their formal training when they get to university, though they may have had some exposure to the field at school or through their local museum.
The basic qualification needed to become a professional archaeologist is a BA and Honours degree or, in some countries in Southern Africa, a four-year BA degree. You are, however, usually expected to pursue postgraduate studies at the Masters and PhD levels, as it is at these levels that you learn how to conduct your own research projects and demonstrate that you have the academic and practical skills to supervise others in the field.
A Masters degree generally takes at least two years and a PhD a minimum of three. Some individuals, particularly those who work while studying, may take longer than this.
Many archaeology students feel their university education does not adequately prepare them for entering the workplace. While most archaeology programmes in Southern Africa offer a basic grounding in the subject, they cannot cater for all possible career options, as most university departments do not have the capacity to do so.
At university, archaeology students will be introduced to the theoretical and practical basis of the discipline, along with essential skills such as report writing, and research and analytical skills. The university course will also develop students’ critical faculties.
Ultimately, however, most archaeologists learn their particular, niche skills by working in a specific context, such as for a heritage authority, cultural resources management firm, museum or educational institution.
One learns to do research by doing research – first at the Honours and then at the Masters and Doctoral levels.
Not all universities in Southern Africa offer archaeology programmes. If they don’t, they may incorporate archaeology as part of history or anthropology. If you are a graduate of one of these universities and, for example, apply to a South African university to complete your Masters degree, you may be expected to complete the archaeology Honours degree before continuing to Masters’ level.
Information on some of these programmes is available below. More information will be added as and when it becomes available.
Any department in Southern Africa that would like their information added to this list should send their details to Natalie Swanepoel at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Archaeology at Southern African universities
Botswana – The University of Botswana
The department of history at the University of Botswana has an archaeology unit, which offers a teaching and research programme in both archaeology and museum studies. More information is available on the university website.
Malawi – The Catholic University of Malawi
Archaeology is offered at the Catholic University of Malawi, which was founded in 2006. The department focuses on both socio-cultural anthropology and archaeology. More information is available here.
Mozambique – Universidade Eduardo Mondlane
The university’s department of archaeology and anthropology (departamento de arqueologia e antropologia) does not yet offer a degree course in archaeology. Some archaeology subjects are, however, offered under the auspices of other departments, such as anthropology, which offers an introduction to archaeology, prehistory and human evolution, and history, which offers a course in archaeology of farming communities of Southern Africa.
More information is available on the faculty of art and social sciences website, from where you can access the department of archaeology and anthropology. Alternatively you can contact the department directly:
Eduardo Mondlane University
Faculty of art and social sciences
Department of archaeology and anthropology
Av. J Nyerere – Campus 3453, PO Box 257, Maputo
More information is available via e-mail from: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Namibia – The University of Namibia
The University of Namibia does not currently offer archaeology as a separate subject. Certain foundational modules have, however, been introduced. More information is available here.
South Africa
There are four South African universities offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in archaeology. These are the University of the Witwatersrand, University of South Africa, the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town. Three of the four universities are located in the Gauteng province and one is in the Western Cape. All South African universities are staffed by archaeologists with a variety of interests and expertise in archaeology.
Generally, the undergraduate degree takes three years, while the postgraduate duration varies according to the level of study: a year for Honours, two years for Masters and a minimum of three years for a PhD.
Details of the different courses vary from university to university. Please visit the various departmental websites for further details.
Employment for archaeologists
Archaeologists can work in a variety of employment sectors, including government departments, heritage agencies, heritage consulting, museums and universities.
Please note that no matter what the field, you are not able to escape doing administration and report writing!
Heritage agencies
Most countries in Southern Africa have dedicated national and/or provincial heritage agencies that act as custodians of the national heritage estate. Among other things, these agencies are responsible for protecting, conserving and managing sites that are important on a regional, national or international level. Depending of the exact nature of the post, a job at a heritage agency might include a combination of: education and outreach; research and community liaison; the identification, evaluation, protection and promotion of heritage resources; the implementation of heritage legislation; participation in government policy formulation; and the assessment of reports and oversight of the permitting process for, among other things, excavation, grave relocations and/or the destruction of heritage sites.
Heritage consulting
Working as a consultant often involves being contracted by developers to undertake archaeological impact assessments as part of the process of heritage impact assessment.
This field of archaeology is often also referred to as cultural resource management (CRM). CRM archaeologists play an important role in protecting and recording our heritage resources, as they are mostly called in when development is likely to negatively affect the archaeology of an area.
The CRM archaeologist is responsible for identifying and recording what archaeological sites, if any, are likely to be damaged or destroyed by the proposed development and will need to advise their clients and the heritage authorities of the existence and significance of these sites. These reports can determine what path a development takes. It may be necessary to mitigate (excavate or further investigate) the site, particularly if the archaeological resources will be negatively affected or destroyed. The site may also be deemed too significant to destroy and will be preserved.
This sphere of employment requires extensive field experience, but one can also be employed in an assistant position, under the guidance of an accredited or experienced archaeologist. While some consultants are employed by universities or museums, others are self-employed.
Museums
Museums are an important source of employment for archaeologists. A museum archaeologist may fulfil a number of roles. He or she may be expected to conduct archaeological research and/or to participate in CRM projects in the local area on the museum’s behalf.
It is expected that the results of research will be written up for publication, in both museum and other journals and presented at conferences.
A museum archaeologist will also work with the other departments in the museum to curate objects and mount exhibitions. An important facet of such a job is to act as an important resource for the public. Public education and liaising is thus central to the job of the museum archaeologist.
Universities
Archaeologists may also be employed in a university archaeology (or related discipline) department, or in a research centre at a university. A research post or fellowship usually allows the archaeologist to devote time to fieldwork, research and the writing up of their results, though they may also be expected to do some teaching or supervision of postgraduate students.
A university lecturer is responsible for teaching – both lectures and practical sessions – at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, they are expected to maintain an active research agenda, presenting and publishing their findings at conferences and in academic journals. As a member of the university faculty, they also play a part in the broader university community and are expected to serve on a number of departmental and university committees.
Requirements
A potential archaeologist needs to be committed to conservation, patient, detail oriented, observant, curious and sensitive. One of the objectives of studying archaeology is to study and preserve, where appropriate, that which is important in providing us with a window to the past. Both fieldwork and analysis take time and patience is crucial. Archaeologists also need to be sensitive to societal issues and understand the communities in which they work by taking nothing for granted.
On a practical level, a driving licence is essential (and is often a requirement for various posts) as archaeologists often have to go into the field. A variety of computer skills – word processing, working with statistical and research databases, and geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping software – would be useful (though these can also be acquired as necessary). It helps if you can speak a variety of languages and you should be able to work in a team.
A common assumption is that you must like excavating – “digging” – to become an archaeologist and that you should thus have a high tolerance for dirt, sun and camping. Though such fieldwork may form a significant portion of your training and, depending on your job, your subsequent employment, not all archaeology involves being in the field or excavation. Many researchers focus on laboratory work, which usually involves the analysis of archaeological assemblages or the testing of samples.
In addition, not all fieldwork includes excavation. Some archaeologists specialise in rock art, the built environment or landscape studies. While these involve fieldwork, the archaeologist concerned may choose not to excavate.
Archaeologists who spend time in the field also spend a lot of time in their offices writing reports, analysing material and preparing lectures or other material, depending on the nature of their work.
Once a site has been excavated, it has essentially been destroyed. It is thus vital that the information obtained from the site is made available to heritage agencies and other archaeologists in the form of reports but also, preferably, in the form of journal publications and conference presentations.