stargate
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BSc Arch Sci, Dip PAS
Posts: 484
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Post by stargate on Dec 30, 2010 11:29:10 GMT -5
For anyone interested in British archaeology, especially those located within mainland Britain, I'd highly recommend checking out the Council for British Archaeology's website here: www.britarch.ac.uk/There's tonnes of info on there, ranging from the latest news about archaeological goings on, to where and how you can get involved, and also details about the Young Archaeologist Club for younger Indy fans On that note, anyone with an interest in archaeology and that has Jr's of their own, I would highly recommend that you check out your local YAC branch! It's a great way to get your kids into some proper archaeology-related activities, and as parents you could too I'm only bringing this up because I'm an assistant leader at our local YAC branch, and have seen many young people come along to our meetings and have a really good time. Anyway, check it out and hopefully you'll find something of interest! If anyone would like more info on British archaeology, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can help. Granted it's not like I know much, but hopefully we should be able to get you somewhere that might have an answer Kind regards, Si
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Post by Buck on Dec 30, 2010 14:39:28 GMT -5
hey this is cool I'll have to look into it, now if only I lived in England! I wish I was from like Liverpool or London or something! ;D ;D And would you mind telling me what YAC stands for?
~Buck
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stargate
Treasure Seeker
BSc Arch Sci, Dip PAS
Posts: 484
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Post by stargate on Dec 30, 2010 17:33:38 GMT -5
Young Archaeologists' Club And trust me, London and Liverpool are not all that - have been to both, would not care to return! To be honest, I actually applied to Liverpool University for an Egyptology course and an Archaeology course. But the place looked so shoddy, the courses on offer were so low quality, and the lecturers so up theirselves, it just wasn't worth it As for London - overpriced, full of obnoxious prats, and generally not a nice place to be! But yes, for anyone in the UK, check out the CBA
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Post by Buck on Dec 30, 2010 17:45:39 GMT -5
well Those are really the only two cities I know in England. ;D I would hope to visit England one day!
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Post by jedimastered on Jan 1, 2011 15:00:12 GMT -5
Hey Stargate, I am a Business Major for now, but am definitely interested in taking up Archaeology in graduate school... I just took Anthropology last semester and enjoyed it. Hopefully a Business major can go to graduate school for archaeology
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stargate
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BSc Arch Sci, Dip PAS
Posts: 484
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Post by stargate on Jan 1, 2011 20:23:14 GMT -5
Business to archaeology? That's quite a divergence in study! ;D Have you studied it before? Or any combination of history and science? Because that's the kind of background you'll need to get into it When I applied to university, I'd been studying history, environmental science, ICT, and German. Those were an ideal mix of subjects, as they gave me a good grounding in literary studies, thematic and analytical understanding, as well as a knowledge of linguistics. Although they weren't all necessary all of the time, the skills learned through that mix of study definitely helped to get the grades during the degree course. You're probably best of talking to a course manager, and seeing what transferable skills you've got, and what you might need to be build on
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Post by jedimastered on Jan 2, 2011 6:30:52 GMT -5
I've always done well in History, unfortunately my school doesn't offer a History degree... All American Universities care about is $$$$$ anyways, so my guess is as long as you can pay you can stay. When I first started at the school part-time while working in Chicago, classes were around $450-$500 with small classes offered at nights.... Now the university lets in a bunch more people, costs closer to $700 a semester and has let in some people that are not much above the ranks of stupidity. I have taken some hybrid courses that are part on line part in class, and the writing skills of most of the students is at a 6th grade level if that. Quite pathetic.
I love history and have tried to take up History courses when offered, and have taken 1 anthro course, looking to take a second on American Indians (but was full). I took the AP US History test in High School without studying and tested out of my college history requirements, so the only history class I have taken was the US Civil War and Reconstruction. Also took an interdisciplinary studies course and wrote a 20+ page paper on how Great Britain could have maintained the American colonies had they followed Machiavelli's principles showcased in the Prince and Discourses, but that the control would have had to be in the form of a Dominion similar to AUS or CAN rather than colonial.
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Post by Pennsylvania Jones on Jan 2, 2011 11:38:51 GMT -5
You know, the funny thing is... My fandom of Indiana Jones inspired me not to become an archaeologist, but rather a missionary. In my mind, missionaries are more adventurers than archaeologists are. Steven
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stargate
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BSc Arch Sci, Dip PAS
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Post by stargate on Jan 2, 2011 15:54:42 GMT -5
Jedi - seems like you've at least got the right mindset for archaeology, and if you've done interdisciplinary studies before, you'll understand some of the skills involved in studying archaeology Because let's face it, there are few other subjects that are more multidisciplinary than archaeology ;D If you can't manage to find an appropriate course via a US university, you could always look into doing a course from one abroad - my old uni (Bradford, West Yorks) has partner institutes in a couple of different countries. So it's fairly reasonable to say that a *lot* of European universities will have partner institutes, and some of those will be in the States. Best of luck anyway, and as I said in the original post, if you'd like any more help/info just drop me a line
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Post by jedimastered on Jan 2, 2011 21:17:30 GMT -5
Thanks! I am trying to get my school to offer a Summer Archaeology course at a place like Chichen Itza so I can see if it is something I really want to do. I went with a business degree because I was working on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade in the Soybean Futures and Options pits... When the small company I worked with there went under and I ended up jobless I decided to transfer from Purdue (north central) to Valparaiso University for History... It was a private school and I was excited to go, but they apparently were not excited to have me as they would not return calls for me to schedule classes. They were not orientated towards adults but High Schoolers who had no real world experience so I had to decide between Indiana University (Northwest) for Anthro/ History or back to Purdue (North Central) to finish my bachelors (I already had an Associates in Busines)...
I had decided I would take 1 business course at Purdue and also take their Intro to Anthro and if I liked it transfer to IU however I ended up deciding to go full-time at the last minute and just finish business and get my GPA up from my slacking days.
On a side note, I suppose a love of museums has always been in my veins. Although not natural history, my Great Grandmother worked at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. She ended up becoming Director of Operations there and essentially ran the place before retiring (the place has gone downhill since). I was partially raised by her and my Great Grandpa whom I spent a lot of time with, this of course meant a lot of time at the museum as a young child. When I wasn't at the museum my great grandpa always talked about history with me (WWII Vet), so I have always had a love of History and such. While the CBOT offered me a path of Fortune and Little Glory but tons of stress, I have now realized I should do something else I really enjoy, despite having loved it there. Was a bit lost for awhile after the job loss, so I am oping I can finish business and then do History or Archaeology.. maybe be a Historical Archaeologist.
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stargate
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Post by stargate on Jan 3, 2011 8:05:51 GMT -5
Wow, that does sound interesting! It's always interesting to hear how people in other countries go through university, and get to learn in different ways to us in the UK Here, most people get to university by finishing high school, then continuing on to Sixth Form (an extension to high school) or college where you do 2 years of study at either one. Students aim for certain grades, which have attached UCAS (University and College Admission Service) points, then apply to several different universities. Having visited each one, and gotten a sense of what the courses offer, the student then decides which of their intended courses will be their top choice, and then ranks the others below that. During the summer after they finish at 6th Form or college, they then find out what their grades are, and get final offers from their chosen universities. They decide which one to accept, and then in mid-late September they go off to study It's quite different to how your system in the States operates, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse - such as your ability to go on summer schools (not something easily achievable here)! My closest experience was getting to dig in the historic city of York, the 'captial' of our county (Yorkshire), with the York Archaeology Trust. It's the largest excavation inside the city for over 20 years, and was a fantastic learning experience, giving me some vital excavation skills and building my knowledge of the city's past. So best of luck with your studies, and if you do manage to get down to Chichen Itza, please remember to keep a diary/journal, and let us all know how your adventure unfolds
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Post by jedimastered on Jan 3, 2011 12:08:16 GMT -5
HAHA on the journal good point... yea, When you are in High School in the States you begin applying to different Universities...Whether you get admitted Depends on your grades and ethnicity or color of your skin (Affirmitive Action), money, how much your parents make etc. But it's easy for an adult to get into school in this country if they didn't go right after High School.. Our University system is very much money based... We have so many new Universities that are 100% online... Could you imagine taking a class that is basically the same as this forum but with homework? Do you guys do online classes there? BTW that is awesome that you got to dig in York....
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stargate
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BSc Arch Sci, Dip PAS
Posts: 484
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Post by stargate on Jan 3, 2011 12:35:08 GMT -5
The journal's got to be a given with Indy fans and archaeologists alike ;D Yeah, we have online classes here, and that's what I was trying to get at - you could take an online course from a UK university (even Oxford does them in Archaeology) Thankfully there's not as much prejudice when it comes to uni applications over here, with only people with additional needs/disabilities getting more leway. And yes, it was truly awesome to have the opportunity to dig in York The YAT staff were great too, very friendly and helpful, and grateful for the assistance as well! We were excavating a large site (area H) on the Hungate Dig (website HERE ), which is a multiperiod, heavily used site right up until the present. We were digging through the Victorian layer at the time, with some fairly mundane domestic waste (modern stuff is boring!), but we did manage to find a "knackers' yard" which is where they took dead lame horses to be turned into all sorts of products (e.g. glue). Unfortunately I've not had the chance to do much excavation, but I'm very happy with what I have been fortunate to do. In the summer before going to uni, I was digging on a local site the other side of town, in the grounds of an old Hall. In the summer after the first year, I went off to North Yorkshire to dig on a neolithic site (because of missing out on the chance to go to Pompeii?!), then the summer after second year it was on to Hungate at York Most of my current 'fieldwork' is done with the local Young Archaeologists' Club, and we don't actually get much if any excavation done. Mostly it's just fieldwalking or similar, but it's still archaeology, and it's still fun. My advice would always be to get in *any* experience you can, as it all helps in the end, and will always put you in good stead. Be it fieldwalking with a local group, to archiving finds in the local museum, any and all archaeological experience is valid!
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Post by jedimastered on Jan 4, 2011 1:16:02 GMT -5
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Roman Archaeologist
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Post by Roman Archaeologist on Jan 4, 2011 5:39:55 GMT -5
Hey! going back to the start of the thread if you're really interested in archaeology in Britain, the CBA publishes a great magazine called 'British Archaeology' which keeps you up to date with all the latest news, discoveries, views etc - and you can subscribe to it via thier website wherever you live in the world - check it out! Its a must, especially if you go on to study arcaheology at a UK university... PS Liverpool university courses in archaeology, ancient history, egyptology are thought very highly of and score very highly in their league tables - I can vouch for them as I graduated from there!!
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stargate
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BSc Arch Sci, Dip PAS
Posts: 484
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Post by stargate on Jan 4, 2011 11:16:22 GMT -5
Yes, CBA publications are fantastic, and definitely a must for anyone interested in British archaeology (be they British or otherwise) Jedi - that's some really interesting news, thanks for bringing it up! I'd heard the museum were setting about conducting investigations in their grounds, but hadn't heard about this yet - it's fantastic!
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