Archaeology Magazine - December 1954 - 41

spent in writing up notes on what he is finding and in
preparing reports for publication. Next, foreign languages will be necessary. Most American universities
require graduate students to pass reading examinations
in French and German, and these languages are of
especial importance to archaeologists, since there is a
large and excellent archaeological literature in each of
them. If the student hopes to do field work in some
area outside the United States, other languages will also
be necessary.Some of them can be taken in high school:
Latin, for example, for prospective Classical archaeologists, or Spanish for those interested in Central or
South America. Geometry and trigonometry are valuable for map making, which is ,an important activity in
every excavation. In his spare time the student should
pick up some camping experience, do some reading on
the area he is interested in, and study the collections at
any archaeological museum that is available to him.
On admission to college the student should consult
the adviser for the Anthropology Department (or the
department handling the area of his interest) at the
earliest opportunity, even though the regulations may
not require it. Most collegesrequire students to devote a
year or two to general studies before they are formally
enrolled in a major subject, and careful planning of the
program during this period will give the student a better
basis for lat;er work. The prospective archaeologist
should continue his program of language study and
take some elementary science courses (chemistry, ge-

ology and palaeontology are especially useful). Courses
in history and in the history of art are also to be recommended. Care should be taken to fulfil the prerequisites for more advanced courses which the student
wants to take later. For example, a course in elementary
Hebrew may be a prerequisite to Assyrian and Sumerian,
languages which are needed by archaeologists working
in the Mesopotamian field.
Sometime during his preparation the student should
get some instruction in typing, photography, freehand
and mechanical drawing, and simple surveying. These
are all skills which are needed in archaeological field
work in making the record of what is found. An archaeologist does not need all the skill of a professional surveyor or draftsman but he should be able to make a competent map or measured drawing.
An archaeologist gets his specialized training in his
last two years of college work and in graduate school.
Except for languages the whole program of specialized
training can, indeed, be put off until graduate school
without much loss of time. Hence the prospective
archaeologist can get a satisfactory undergraduate education at almost any college with high academic standards. He should, if possible, major in the subject field
in which he expects to do graduate work. If, however,
the college he is attending has no department in his
immediate field of interest (anthropology or oriental
languages, for example), a major in some related field
such as history, art or geography would be the best

VASEMENDING:
one end of the mending room at the Agora Excavationsin
Athens.The vasesand fragmentsspread
out on the tables are from an ancient
well once used as a dump for broken
pottery.In Greecethe actualmendingis
usuallydone by local technicians.The
glue is a simpleshellac;in the handsof
a skilled menderit producesa perfect
join. The excavatorworks along with
the mender,decideswhat shall or shall
not be mended,and givesthe technician
whateverhelp is necessary,
while at the
sametimestudyingthe vasesand preparing for their descriptionand publication.

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Archaeology Magazine - December 1954

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - December 1954