AboutRalph Salier Expertise Archaeologist for the last 30 years. Norh American generalist and Hopwell culture/Red Ocher culture specifically. Lithics Expert and Ground Stone tools.
Experience
Past/Present clients Numerous museums in US and Canada. Several University Anthropology Departments.
Question hi. I'm currently working on getting my basics out of the way thought Phoenix online. i want to go to college for historical archaeology and ancient history. i have studied Egypt since i was 14 and other things in china, south America and places like Scotland. do you have an idea of a few schools to check out that may help me reach my career goal.
Answer Hi Theresia,
Well first of all, you need to figure out what you want to study. Archaeology is a very broad field and people may specialize in one or more fields but this is very unusual. Generally speaking they pick one and stick to it. It is hard to become an expert if you spread your self thin. Also do you want to do historical or prehistoric, how historic or how ancient? There is also a big difference in what you need to study for Ancient History vs Archaeology.
Now that I have given you some food for thought, you need to do some focused reading on these areas of interest and see which hits you most strongly. Then do you want to do the Historical route or the Archaeological route. This is important since it will make a huge difference in which school to attend. The other factor is money. Can you study at Cambridge, Columbia or Arizona State? The amount of money for your education is an important factor. If you plan to take big loans for this education, just remember as an archaeologist, you will be luck to make 30 to 40K per year. Less then many teachers make.
So, please let me know your thoughts and if I can give you additional guidance, I will be more then happy to do so.
