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The Four Fields of Archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Charles R. McGimsey III
Charles R. McGimsey III*
Affiliation:
Arkansas Archaeological Survey, 2475 N. Hatch Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704
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Abstract

The increase in funding associated with new legislation subsequent to the late 1960s and the introduction of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) research has changed archaeology in many ways. Not the least of these changes is the first full flowering of archaeology's four fields of endeavor (research and report writing, teaching, management, and outreach) to the extent that it is now possible for individuals to devote major portions of their career to a single field, and increasingly they are doing so, though a career that entails some work in more than one field is still, and probably should remain, the rule. Within the research field, academic research and research activities related to archaeological resource management (ARM) should develop as complementary rather than as compartmentalized approaches to the database. The teaching field must emphasize training students for service in all four fields. Management and public outreach should be recognized as legitimate fields of full-time archaeological endeavor, and public accountability should be embraced.

Résumé

Résumé

El aumento del financiamiento que se asocia con la nueva legislación posterior a fines de la década de los 60 y la introducción de investigaciones acerca del manejo de recursos culturales (CRM) han transformado la arqueología de diversas maneras. Un cambio de particular importancia es que por primera vez se desarrollan plenamente los cuatro campos de acción de la arqueología (la investigación y la elaboración de informes, la enseñanza, la administración y las relaciones públicas), hasta el punto que ahora es posible que los individuos puedan dedicar gran parte de su carrera a un solo campo, lo cual sucede cada vez con mayor frecuencia, aun cuando una carrera que incluya trabajos en más de un campo todavía es la norma y, probablemente, debe seguir siéndolo. Dentro del campo de la investigacíon, la academica y las actividades de investigación relacionadas con el manejo de recursos arqueológicos (ARM) no se debe desarrollar como un enfoque dividido en categorías fragmentadas, sino como complementario a la base de datos. En el campo de la enseñanza se debe hacer énfasis en el entrenamiento de los estudiantes en los cuatro campos. La administración y las relaciones públicas deben ser reconocidas como campos legí timos justificados en la investigación de tiempo complete y se debe abrazar la responsabilidad pública.

Information

Type
Forum
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 68 , Issue 4 , October 2003, pp. 611 - 618
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2003

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References

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