≡ Menu

Archaeology Field Work in USA – Searching for a Project

Searching or an archaeology project in America, searching for inertia — I am searching for an archaeology project to work on in the wild west of America. I have been sending out my CV to the Shovelbums.org listings as well as contacting old friends in the profession. I have turned up a few leads, soon, [...]

Support VBJ’s writing on this blog:

Searching or an archaeology project in America, searching for inertia —

I am searching for an archaeology project to work on in the wild west of America. I have been sending out my CV to the Shovelbums.org listings as well as contacting old friends in the profession. I have turned up a few leads, soon, I hope, I will harness the inertia to leave Maine.

I have bitten this bullet through in Maine. I have now stayed here as long as I have ever stayed stayed anywhere in one go. For four months I have been in Bangor. Only one other time have I ever stayed anywhere for this long:


Hangzhou, China, 2007 —
I was sick and ailing from a dose of travel in India that went on a little too long. I was near dead when I borded a flight out of Karnataka for Hong Kong. In my fever delirium I yelled very loud insults at the Indian flight attendants when they just bobbled their heads at me when I tried in vain to explain that I was having a medical emergency and needed medicine to break my fever. They bobbled their heads and then charged me money for a drink of water. Clearly, I needed to get out of India; clearly,  I needed China.

I needed to go and see my old Chinese medicine doctor in Hangzhou. I got better, but it took four months of an intense herbal regiment.

I can remember how far away the horizon appeared from my sickbed in Hangzou. I thought that I was never going to travel again, I was so sick for so long. But before too long I was back to wandering. I hopped a train up to Mongolia and then hitchhiked back down through China to Vietnam. I was back.

Now I am again looking at a horizon that seems far away. I am saving money to by a sailboat, but I fear that the logistics inherent to sailing are going to take time — lots of time for learning and experience to set in.

This far away horizon is scraping at my guts — I need to move.

Back to the old archaeology strategy of travel inertia.

archaeology fieldwork

archaeology fieldwork

For my first 7 years of wandering, I would travel around the USA working on archaeology projects for a few months and then travel abroad with the spoils of my labor for the rest of the year. Sometimes I would go to university abroad, sometimes I would work abroad just for the kicks of doing so, but it was the archaeology that fueled these travels.

The archaeology also lent impetus to going: the archaeology always presented an ever ready escape plan. Whenever I would feel idle when backpacking for months on end in those tentative first years of travel before I began the Vagabond Journey.com project, I knew that the archaeology working season was always only a step away. Whenever I would return from travels abroad to visit my family with pockets as empty as my heart, a few emails would land me a job in some far off nowhere part of North America.

If nothing else, the archaeology always kept my wheels turning. It was my profession — what I knew how to do — and I had to travel to do it: there was never another option. I must admit that I owe much to the archaeology profession for mashing me into a traveler. If I did not feel hamstrung into always having to travel for work, I may have stayed in the North Country woods and lived out my mountain man fantasy in ’01.

(Though I doubt it.)

Now I need an escape plan again — I need the archaeology. Most archaeologists do not have families — as it is a traveling profession, and most family men do not wander with a wife and kids in tow — but I do not think it would be too difficult working these jobs with Chaya and Petra. If fact, this should not be so difficult at all, as my wife and child can just hang out in a nice, clean (ideally) hotel room while I roll around in the dirt making us up some travel funds.

This horizon does not seem too bad from here.

The notion of a half way jump could be the inertia that we need to get moving again. Right now, the jump from Maine to a foreign country — any foreign country — seems far away. My family is not ready for this sort of move, my baby is only three weeks old. But to go out for a couple of months working archaeology jobs as Petra’s skull solidifies . . . well, this seems doable.

I know that once we begin traveling as a family the dynamics will work themselves out, and everything that now seems obtuse and difficult will soon be wrapped up into a clean and tight standard operating procedure.

Though I am not so bull headed that I overlook the fact that it is NEVER going to seem like a GOOD time to begin traveling with a baby.

Fact: any single point of time between now and 18 years from now, will probably not seem right to begin traveling with Petra. What we need is inertia, a booster step to get up on the ladder, a bridge to the other side.

Working a transitory job for a few months may serve to be the blow horn of impetus that we need.

The only thing left to it, is to do it.

The only thing left to it, is always to just do it. The first step is always the most difficult. I know this as any one else . . . though I also know that the second step is never as hard as it once appeared when standing still.

When you start walking, your feet and body do the thinking — you are on the roller coaster, you take your situations as you get them, and quickly find that you move right through em.

When you are standing still, you are stuck in the shoots and ladders of conjecture. The human mind is cautious, it will always produce more reasons to stand still than to go . . . until you get it rolling.

An object at rest tends to stay at rest. An object in motion tends to stay in motion.

The archaeology has always been the great purveyor of inertia. And once inertia strikes, everything will be alright . . . forever and ever and ever.

This is the great wisdom of traveling: you learn that things have a way of working themselves out — there is no knot that is not eventually unraveled, no brick wall too thick to chew through — if you just do it.

If you just go. Spinning wheels have the tendency of running over any obstacle in their path.

And so I look for a job in the Southwestern deserts of the USA — a single tick from Mexico. I look for archaeology fieldwork.

So I resubscribed to the Shovelbums, and the archaeology job postings came flooding into my inbox. I also made some phone calls and sent out an email or two to a few old friends of the profession.

A few jobs seemed to fit what I was looking for:

Southern Utah

BS/BA or MA/MS in anthropology or related field or demonstrate considerable experience in field techniques, data recording, mapping and surveying. Responsibilities include intensive survey, recordation and site testing.Must be able to walk 5 to 7 miles a day across various types of terrain carrying necessary gear. Employees will acquire at least 40 hrs a week and the schedule is 8 days on and 6 days off. Wage is between $13.00 and $16.00 depending on experience/education . . . Per diem is $35.00 a day; food will be provided for all meals . . .

Nevada

A paleontological monitor is needed for a construction project in the Las Vegas Valey (Nevada). The position would last for approximately 80 days beginning in September or October, 2009. Employment could continue for a longer period if the project is not complete. Wages would be in the vicinity of $20.00 per hour

Arizona

An old friend sent me this email:

I heard that a firm out here called . . . is going to be hiring soon as they have alot of jobs coming up. They recently merged with another big company, so they are a pretty big firm. This is their website link . . . have a look at it. If you do apply for a job, make sure and use my name (and company info) as a reference.

So I sent out my CV, and now I wait. I wait for the compass to stop spinning and fall on a direct heading. I wait for the map of the road ahead to draw itself.

Vagabond Journey on Archaeology

Filed under: Archaeology, USA, Work

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3699 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

Support VBJ’s writing on this blog:

VBJ is currently in: New York City

6 comments… add one

Leave a Comment

Cancel reply

  • Bob L September 4, 2009, 12:33 am

    Wade wrote: “but I do not think it would be too difficult working these jobs with Chaya and Petra. If fact, this should not be so difficult at all, as my wife and child can just hang out in a nice, clean (ideally) hotel room while I roll around in the dirt making us up some travel funds.”

    I know you are discussing this with Chaya, but, we men tend to not hear the real answers to things we are excited about. Sitting in a hotel room does not sound fun to me, and you must think of their needs as well before you make some sort of decision. I know you are, but your writing does not mention this detail. Maybe a post about how to include all the needs of an entire family into travel and working on the road would be interesting. Although I suppose the coming years will be full of stories and advice along these lines.

    Link Reply
  • Brian P September 4, 2009, 11:45 am

    With a now 15 month old, I will be getting on a plane in about 6 hours for a cross-country (U.S.) flight. Having traveled when the baby was 6 weeks old, I found it was much easier back then than it is now. When he started to crawl (and then walk!) that’s all he wanted to do. Sitting still was not really an option, and having to childproof things became (and is) much more difficult. When the baby is small, they’ll sleep anywhere. We’ll see what the next years bring, but it’s all a matter of your family’s priorities!

    Link Reply
  • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com September 5, 2009, 6:10 pm

    From Reina —

    Take it from me- Just keep a nice calm and peaceful front up, for the baby, for 12 weeks, like 0 stress for the baby, for 12 weeks, whether you’re travelling or not. This will result in a more equananimous child. That and wearing them in a pouch or whatever til they can walk makes for a not so easily-fazed and trusting baby. Ours travelled a lot, sometimes under difficult conditions, and were usually relaxed and open to big adventures. Their needs usually took priority though, and this was good, because when we had to say not that, not now, they knew we meant it. The boyz are 19 and 21 now. Nr. 1 currently travelling in Asia for almost a year already………..

    Link Reply
  • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com September 5, 2009, 6:22 pm

    Hello Bob,

    Perhaps you would feel differently about living out of a hotel if you were breast feeding for half the hours of the day and just wanted a place to relax haha. It seems as if the simplicity of living away visitors, house cleaning, and the rigors of social responsibility could serve as a refuge.

    Traveling — even at its most difficult — is 1,000 times easier than sitting sedentary.

    I do not yet have any idea how to incorporate the needs of an entire family into traveling and working, though I am soon to learn a lot, I am sure.

    Thanks for the advice, you are right about men not hearing real answers from women, and I have found that women often do not say what they really feel.

    Wade

    Link Reply
  • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com September 5, 2009, 6:23 pm

    Brian P,

    Good call. Lots of people have told us that traveling with an infant is far easier than with a little kid. I suppose we will find all of this out ourselves haha.

    Thanks,

    Wade

    Link Reply
  • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com September 5, 2009, 6:27 pm

    Hello Reina,

    Thanks for this advice. It is good and I am sure we will try to take it. Though it is sometimes difficult to tell what stresses out a baby though. Petra sometimes seems vastly more stressed out in our apartment than while walking around town or out hiking or doing something. Though, so far, Petra takes moving well.

    Thanks,

    Wade

    Link Reply