Expert: John J. Shea - 7/3/2006

Question
hello sir!!
i m doing engineering in computer science. i have great interest in this field. can you  tell me what are the requirements to enter into this field taking into consideration that i m a computer science student. it would be a pleasure if i get ur guidance
thanks  

Answer
Dear Astha
There are, as you will discover, a lot of possibilities for computer science applications in archaeology, from data management, to image processing, to simulations.
The "requirements" for doing archaeology vary depending on what you want to do.
If you just want to explore the subject, without committing yourself to a career in archaeology, probably the best thing to do would be to take an introductory college-level course in archaeology.  If you are in the USA, such courses are usually offered by departments of Anthropology.
If taking a class is not an option, an alternative step might be to read a good textbook on the subject.  In my opinion, Robert Kelly and David Hurst Thomas's Archaeology and T. Douglas Price's Principles of Archaeology are two of the best textbooks currently in print.  I use Thinkingstrings' Revealing Archaeology (a CD-ROM text) in my classes, and it is a good text, but it requires access to a computer to use it.
At some point early on, you should enroll in an archaeological field school or volunteer on an archaeological excavation, so that you know what fieldwork is like.
At that point, you will be in a better position to decide how much further you want to pursue archaeology.
For just participating in excavations, -all you need is motivation, interest, and time.  There are a lot of people who do this.  In a sense, for some people, it is the best of both worlds, -you get to do the fun stuff (traveling, digging, finding things) without all the more tedious aspects (writing grant proposals, reports, publishing).
For directing excavations and conducting funded research, one needs higher degrees (MA or Ph.D.)
For teaching and conducting university-level research, one needs a Ph.D.
You can learn more about archaeology from the websites of several of the major professional organizations for archaeologists.  Two good ones are the Society for American Archaeology and the American Schools of Oriental Research.  There are others, of course, but these are two good ones with a strong record for public outreach.
I hope this advice helps you.  If you have follow-up questions,
Cheers
John Shea