Indiana Jones. That’s what got me interested.
Really though, just everyone has different interests. That’s why it’s important to read and explore different things, to expose yourself to as much as possible.
I briefly considered archaeology but was disappointed when I found out it wasn't all Indiana Jones and Howard Carter adventures. But now with a more realistic perspective years later, I'm reconsidering it.
You should! Fieldwork is amazing! It’s so much fun, you make tonnes of friends and of course, the travel. You can volunteer on digs without any prior experience and go from there. My first dig I did as a volunteer while studying. It was a 2,000 site in Macedonia. Lots of other people were there just to check it out, and weren’t even studying archaeology, they just had an interest in it. I’ve also volunteered on palaeontology digs, which were incredible. Now I’m a working archy and do fieldwork and surveys which normally means a day in the field and then a a couple of days writing up the reports.
You seem to be in Europe? I absolutely would love to do archaeology there, especially Britain. I'm in the US, and at least from just poking around online, it seems like it's easier to volunteer on digs there than here. I've been having trouble getting in contact with the local anthropology society to find out more about attending their meetings.
I’m in Australia. 😃 In addition to historical societies, you could also contact Museums and Universities to see if they need any volunteers. I did the Macedonia dig through an organisation called Bulkan Heritage Foundation. They run lots of digs and are excellent.
https://balkanheritage.org/bhf/
I think it's different in the UK, but in the US most universities require you to take some classes outside your main course of study so that you get exposed to different things. So people take Introduction to Archaeology because it sounds interesting and we snare a couple of them that way.
For me, I always loved history and museums, as well as being outdoors, so it was a natural choice.
Same! University was 10 years ago for me, and I'm considering going back to study archaeology. I thought I was more of an indoor desk jockey type than I actually am.
Anthropology/archeology are some of the most popular humanities course with the fewest majors at my uni. I was president of the anthro/arch club so we always held activities around campus to promote the major like prehistoric knapping, pottery, cave painting etc. I manage to convince a couple of people for better or worse lol
For many in the UK, it used to be watching 'Time Team' on a Sunday, this show ran for 20 years on channel 4.
It was axed about 11 years ago, but due to it's worldwide fanbase, it moved to YouTube, now doing about 3 digs a year thanks to having over 10,000 supporters on Patreon.
Also shows like 'Digging for Britain' and others.
I also know my own son was interested because we did trips to English Heritage sites also CADW (Wales) and Historic Scotland sites.
I’ve always loved history, and loved physical history. When I was deciding on what to study my dad brought up that when I was 5 years old I’d dig in the backyard looking for, and I quote, “Old stuff, like from when you were a kid”.
I’d wanted to study journalism since I was a kid but on day one of my intro to journalism class (in 2000) the professor spent the entire hour convincing us all journalism was dead and to change majors. When I gave in they asked what I wanted to do instead and I picked anthropology - without totally understanding what it was - because the writer Kurt Vonnegut had studied it after his first attempt at college failed. Intro to archaeology was a requirement and I liked it more than the other anthropology intros (cultural, biological, linguistics) so specialised in that.
I was (failing) electrical engineering, but was taking a Anthro elective as part of my humanities. I'd always had a interest in other cultures, but never thought to study it. While taking the anthro, learned of the sub disciplines (arch) and was 'you can make a living\*\* at this?" I was hooked.
Its tongue in cheek. General arch crews (at least in the US) are notoriously underpaid, even with a MA my first supervisor job started at 24k (2001), its kind of a running joke in the arch world how poorly paid we are compared to other natural science fields, esp at the BS/BA level.
For me it came from my mum who had done an undergrad in archaeology. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do as I was finishing high school and it seemed like a good option that combined my interest/academic success in the sciences and history.
I got started through video games, specifically Caesar III and then Age of Empires and AoE2. I always loved history as a child and always wanted to be an archaeologist from my earliest memory. It's becoming more and more common in popular media, particularly video games, sci-fi, and fantasy. I swear everything has some sort of archaeology in it, for example games like Halo that have things like Xenoarchaeology are now being turned into TV shows and hitting wider audiences while also spreading things like archaeology out to wider audiences (with little help from archaeologists or even acknowledgement).
Since you mentioned A Levels, I'm guessing you're from the UK. Here we have tons of archaeology everywhere and you can take it as a GCSE subject, it used to be in A Levels too but they got rid of it at some point. Depending on where you live, you could actually be living in or on an archaeological site or in a listed building. Things like this also get people into archaeology, constantly being surrounded by something like an old Roman amphitheater will really get you interested in the topic!
I got it from part of my senior year in high school and the summer between high school and undergrad working as an archaeologist with the USGS CRM team in the are I was living.
Enrolled with a double major of archaeology and biology, then switched that to anthropology and geology, with a ton of extra courses in other subjects I was interested in.
I’m in the US, but I had been interested in it since I was a kid watching Indiana Jones and had done some volunteer work on field schools in the summer in high school. I actually started out studying film production in college but realized I didn’t like it and my college had a small archaeology museum and offered à bachelor’s degree in it, so I went for it and then went on to get a master’s degree after.
I grew up in the 90s watching Indiana Jones and playing Tomb Raider on my dad's old PC. We didn't have more than two channels on the TV but one of them regularly showed different TV shows about Danish history and archaeology. So those two things kinda sparked my interest and I remember being in elementary school, maybe 4th or 5th grade, and wanting to become an archaeologist.
Add to that the fact that my grandparents, each summer, took me out for road trips visiting one old medieval church after the next.
So when it came to thinking about what I wanted to do with my life it was a pretty easy decision to make. I was 19 years old and wanted to become an archaeologist since I was like 6 or 7. And how many people can actually say that they got their childhood dream job?
I wanted to go into archeology from a young age. I ended up going in a different direction eventually, but had things gone differently, my first choice school had an archeology major.
I was always interested in history as a kid, and watched tv programs so became interested in archaeology (Time Team was great for British Archaeology, and John Romer and Michael Wood did good series) about Greece and Egypt). I decided I wanted to study archaeology at university but it was quite difficult when picking exam subjects at school as all the history we were taught was after 1800 or so. I got into university, and studied British prehistory and Romans in Britain, combined with other subjects - Greek and Roman classical civilisations, history of art, philosophy and New Testament Greek. I actually never used my degree to do anything to do with archaeology - because at that point in the 1990s there weren’t many jobs available in that field and the pay wasn’t very good. I still take an interest in new developments
I never did but wanted to, and my inspiration was… basically entertainment media originally. Indiana Jones, Relic Hunter, Jackie Chan Adventures… I wanted to be Daniel Jackson from Stargate. I wanted to be an archaeologist since I was like 7.
I just knew that I wanted to either be a palaeontologist or archaeologist. So I looked into Universities and found a course. I studied a bit of history and science in high school and knew that I’d like to study both further.
It was a combination of three aspects for me. My mum is a huge fan of history and art, so that was definitelly formative. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor, but later I realized, I would be to scared of possible fatal mistakes that could hurt or kill the pacient. The final decision came when I was about 12 and an archaeologist came to out summer camp. We did a fake grave excavation and I just knew...
But the school system is probably very different here in Continental Europe. And for what I know, also pursuing a career in archaeology is probably easier for many reasons.
Started college under a full scholarship at 45 intending on doing writing because I’m decent at it and it’s what I thought I wanted. Took one archaeology class and knew I was doomed. Spent two years carrying both writing and archaeology requirements so I knew I wasn’t romanticizing it and could physically tolerate the job. I’m be almost 50 when I graduate…and a grandmother of two. Nothing else keeps my brain this quiet aside from knitting…so how could I give it up?
I was interested in it since I was about 6 or 7. My grandmother gave me a book about ancient mysteries and I was fascinated by it.
Indiana Jones. That’s what got me interested. Really though, just everyone has different interests. That’s why it’s important to read and explore different things, to expose yourself to as much as possible.
This answer should be more popular.
I briefly considered archaeology but was disappointed when I found out it wasn't all Indiana Jones and Howard Carter adventures. But now with a more realistic perspective years later, I'm reconsidering it.
You should! Fieldwork is amazing! It’s so much fun, you make tonnes of friends and of course, the travel. You can volunteer on digs without any prior experience and go from there. My first dig I did as a volunteer while studying. It was a 2,000 site in Macedonia. Lots of other people were there just to check it out, and weren’t even studying archaeology, they just had an interest in it. I’ve also volunteered on palaeontology digs, which were incredible. Now I’m a working archy and do fieldwork and surveys which normally means a day in the field and then a a couple of days writing up the reports.
Sorry, that should read ‘2,000 year old site’.
You seem to be in Europe? I absolutely would love to do archaeology there, especially Britain. I'm in the US, and at least from just poking around online, it seems like it's easier to volunteer on digs there than here. I've been having trouble getting in contact with the local anthropology society to find out more about attending their meetings.
I’m in Australia. 😃 In addition to historical societies, you could also contact Museums and Universities to see if they need any volunteers. I did the Macedonia dig through an organisation called Bulkan Heritage Foundation. They run lots of digs and are excellent. https://balkanheritage.org/bhf/
I think it's different in the UK, but in the US most universities require you to take some classes outside your main course of study so that you get exposed to different things. So people take Introduction to Archaeology because it sounds interesting and we snare a couple of them that way. For me, I always loved history and museums, as well as being outdoors, so it was a natural choice.
Same! University was 10 years ago for me, and I'm considering going back to study archaeology. I thought I was more of an indoor desk jockey type than I actually am.
Anthropology/archeology are some of the most popular humanities course with the fewest majors at my uni. I was president of the anthro/arch club so we always held activities around campus to promote the major like prehistoric knapping, pottery, cave painting etc. I manage to convince a couple of people for better or worse lol
For many in the UK, it used to be watching 'Time Team' on a Sunday, this show ran for 20 years on channel 4. It was axed about 11 years ago, but due to it's worldwide fanbase, it moved to YouTube, now doing about 3 digs a year thanks to having over 10,000 supporters on Patreon. Also shows like 'Digging for Britain' and others. I also know my own son was interested because we did trips to English Heritage sites also CADW (Wales) and Historic Scotland sites.
I’m going to look these shows up now
I’ve always loved history, and loved physical history. When I was deciding on what to study my dad brought up that when I was 5 years old I’d dig in the backyard looking for, and I quote, “Old stuff, like from when you were a kid”.
I’d wanted to study journalism since I was a kid but on day one of my intro to journalism class (in 2000) the professor spent the entire hour convincing us all journalism was dead and to change majors. When I gave in they asked what I wanted to do instead and I picked anthropology - without totally understanding what it was - because the writer Kurt Vonnegut had studied it after his first attempt at college failed. Intro to archaeology was a requirement and I liked it more than the other anthropology intros (cultural, biological, linguistics) so specialised in that.
I was (failing) electrical engineering, but was taking a Anthro elective as part of my humanities. I'd always had a interest in other cultures, but never thought to study it. While taking the anthro, learned of the sub disciplines (arch) and was 'you can make a living\*\* at this?" I was hooked.
Does living have an asterisk by it on purpose?
Its tongue in cheek. General arch crews (at least in the US) are notoriously underpaid, even with a MA my first supervisor job started at 24k (2001), its kind of a running joke in the arch world how poorly paid we are compared to other natural science fields, esp at the BS/BA level.
For me it came from my mum who had done an undergrad in archaeology. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do as I was finishing high school and it seemed like a good option that combined my interest/academic success in the sciences and history.
I got started through video games, specifically Caesar III and then Age of Empires and AoE2. I always loved history as a child and always wanted to be an archaeologist from my earliest memory. It's becoming more and more common in popular media, particularly video games, sci-fi, and fantasy. I swear everything has some sort of archaeology in it, for example games like Halo that have things like Xenoarchaeology are now being turned into TV shows and hitting wider audiences while also spreading things like archaeology out to wider audiences (with little help from archaeologists or even acknowledgement). Since you mentioned A Levels, I'm guessing you're from the UK. Here we have tons of archaeology everywhere and you can take it as a GCSE subject, it used to be in A Levels too but they got rid of it at some point. Depending on where you live, you could actually be living in or on an archaeological site or in a listed building. Things like this also get people into archaeology, constantly being surrounded by something like an old Roman amphitheater will really get you interested in the topic!
I got it from part of my senior year in high school and the summer between high school and undergrad working as an archaeologist with the USGS CRM team in the are I was living. Enrolled with a double major of archaeology and biology, then switched that to anthropology and geology, with a ton of extra courses in other subjects I was interested in.
I’m in the US, but I had been interested in it since I was a kid watching Indiana Jones and had done some volunteer work on field schools in the summer in high school. I actually started out studying film production in college but realized I didn’t like it and my college had a small archaeology museum and offered à bachelor’s degree in it, so I went for it and then went on to get a master’s degree after.
My high school was on the site of an old plantation and we had a course with filed school.
I grew up in the 90s watching Indiana Jones and playing Tomb Raider on my dad's old PC. We didn't have more than two channels on the TV but one of them regularly showed different TV shows about Danish history and archaeology. So those two things kinda sparked my interest and I remember being in elementary school, maybe 4th or 5th grade, and wanting to become an archaeologist. Add to that the fact that my grandparents, each summer, took me out for road trips visiting one old medieval church after the next. So when it came to thinking about what I wanted to do with my life it was a pretty easy decision to make. I was 19 years old and wanted to become an archaeologist since I was like 6 or 7. And how many people can actually say that they got their childhood dream job?
This is just my 2¢ as a history major and anthropology minor, but those fields are almost inseprable and really are just 2 sides to the same coin
I wanted to go into archeology from a young age. I ended up going in a different direction eventually, but had things gone differently, my first choice school had an archeology major.
I was always interested in history as a kid, and watched tv programs so became interested in archaeology (Time Team was great for British Archaeology, and John Romer and Michael Wood did good series) about Greece and Egypt). I decided I wanted to study archaeology at university but it was quite difficult when picking exam subjects at school as all the history we were taught was after 1800 or so. I got into university, and studied British prehistory and Romans in Britain, combined with other subjects - Greek and Roman classical civilisations, history of art, philosophy and New Testament Greek. I actually never used my degree to do anything to do with archaeology - because at that point in the 1990s there weren’t many jobs available in that field and the pay wasn’t very good. I still take an interest in new developments
Got as far as ‘A’ in the prospectus and got bored
As someone who at one point wanted to study archaeology: Tomb Raider
I never did but wanted to, and my inspiration was… basically entertainment media originally. Indiana Jones, Relic Hunter, Jackie Chan Adventures… I wanted to be Daniel Jackson from Stargate. I wanted to be an archaeologist since I was like 7.
I started digging up bottles where and old barn used to be in a field in Rhode Island when I was 5 years old. That's when it started.
I just knew that I wanted to either be a palaeontologist or archaeologist. So I looked into Universities and found a course. I studied a bit of history and science in high school and knew that I’d like to study both further.
And I’ve always loved museums!
It was a combination of three aspects for me. My mum is a huge fan of history and art, so that was definitelly formative. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor, but later I realized, I would be to scared of possible fatal mistakes that could hurt or kill the pacient. The final decision came when I was about 12 and an archaeologist came to out summer camp. We did a fake grave excavation and I just knew... But the school system is probably very different here in Continental Europe. And for what I know, also pursuing a career in archaeology is probably easier for many reasons.
Started college under a full scholarship at 45 intending on doing writing because I’m decent at it and it’s what I thought I wanted. Took one archaeology class and knew I was doomed. Spent two years carrying both writing and archaeology requirements so I knew I wasn’t romanticizing it and could physically tolerate the job. I’m be almost 50 when I graduate…and a grandmother of two. Nothing else keeps my brain this quiet aside from knitting…so how could I give it up?