They have developed guidelines for projects to guide archaeological explorations that guard against destruction to the historical record. Please pass this information along to any interested students. Most people think that archaeology is just digging up old things. Because of its complexity, only archaeologists who have a degree in Anthropology or related field and extensive field training should conduct actual excavations. While you might assist a trained archaeologist, we strongly encourage you NOT to excavate without the direct and continual supervision of an archaeologist.
Archeology is the science of recording, interpreting and recreating past life.
The position and relationship of material remains in the soil is of key importance to archeologists. They carefully record contexts within which artifacts are located prior to removing the artifacts. Then artifacts are bagged, labeled identified, and stored in museums and other locations accessible to current and future archaeologists. In this way findings made today, can be reassessed in the light of new scientific information or technology. Finally, the story of the site is told in a written report.