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Anthropologists and Archeologists
Study the origin, development, and behavior of human beings. May study the way of life, language, or physical characteristics of people in various parts of the world. May engage in systematic recovery and examination of material evidence, such as tools or pottery remaining from past human cultures, in order to determine the history, customs, and living habits of earlier civilizations.
Also Known As:
American Indian Policy Specialist
Applied Anthropologist
Applied Cultural Anthropologist
Archaeologist
Communication and Folklore Specialist
Forensic Anthropologist
Historical Archaeologist
Research Archaeologist
Researcher
Wages
Annual wages for Anthropologists and Archeologists in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
9,300
8% Change From 2023
Explore Anthropologists and Archeologists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Advise government agencies, private organizations, and communities regarding proposed programs, plans, and policies and their potential impacts on cultural institutions, organizations, and communities.
- Collaborate with economic development planners to decide on the implementation of proposed development policies, plans, and programs based on culturally institutionalized barriers and facilitating circumstances.
- Record the exact locations and conditions of artifacts uncovered in diggings or surveys, using drawings and photographs as necessary.
- Identify culturally specific beliefs and practices affecting health status and access to services for distinct populations and communities, in collaboration with medical and public health officials.
- Collect information and make judgments through observation, interviews, and review of documents.
- Apply traditional ecological knowledge and assessments of culturally distinctive land and resource management institutions to assist in the resolution of conflicts over habitat protection and resource enhancement.
- Assess archeological sites for resource management, development, or conservation purposes and recommend methods for site protection.
- Gather and analyze artifacts and skeletal remains to increase knowledge of ancient cultures.
- Gather and analyze artifacts and skeletal remains to increase knowledge of ancient cultures.
- Collect artifacts made of stone, bone, metal, and other materials, placing them in bags and marking them to show where they were found.
- Collaborate with economic development planners to decide on the implementation of proposed development policies, plans, and programs based on culturally institutionalized barriers and facilitating circumstances.
- Lead field training sites and train field staff, students, and volunteers in excavation methods.
- Plan and direct research to characterize and compare the economic, demographic, health care, social, political, linguistic, and religious institutions of distinct cultural groups, communities, and organizations.
- Assess archeological sites for resource management, development, or conservation purposes and recommend methods for site protection.
- Compare findings from one site with archeological data from other sites to find similarities or differences.
- Collect artifacts made of stone, bone, metal, and other materials, placing them in bags and marking them to show where they were found.
- Consult site reports, existing artifacts, and topographic maps to identify archeological sites.
- Participate in forensic activities, such as tooth and bone structure identification, in conjunction with police departments and pathologists.
- Develop and test theories concerning the origin and development of past cultures.
- Develop intervention procedures, using techniques such as individual and focus group interviews, consultations, and participant observation of social interaction.
- Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.
- Study archival collections of primary historical sources to help explain the origins and development of cultural patterns.
- Create data records for use in describing and analyzing social patterns and processes, using photography, videography, and audio recordings.
- Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments.
- Organize public exhibits and displays to promote public awareness of diverse and distinctive cultural traditions.
- Enhance the cultural sensitivity of elementary and secondary curricula and classroom interactions in collaboration with educators and teachers.
- Train others in the application of ethnographic research methods to solve problems in organizational effectiveness, communications, technology development, policy making, and program planning.
- Research, survey, or assess sites of past societies and cultures in search of answers to specific research questions.
- Plan and direct research to characterize and compare the economic, demographic, health care, social, political, linguistic, and religious institutions of distinct cultural groups, communities, and organizations.
- Describe artifacts' physical properties or attributes, such as the materials from which artifacts are made and their size, shape, function, and decoration.
- Study objects and structures recovered by excavation to identify, date, and authenticate them and to interpret their significance.
- Consult site reports, existing artifacts, and topographic maps to identify archeological sites.
- Clean, restore, and preserve artifacts.
- Formulate general rules that describe and predict the development and behavior of cultures and social institutions.
- Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
- Write about and present research findings for a variety of specialized and general audiences.
- Lead field training sites and train field staff, students, and volunteers in excavation methods.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")