Archaeology Archaeology was the branch of science , closely associated with the field of anthropology , that studied the distant past , particularly the history of humanoid s and their culture by the examination of recovered material evidence . Those who studied in this field were known as archaeologist s . Across the galaxy , over the course of billions of years , highly advanced civilizations have risen and then fallen into ruin , which meant that exoarchaeology , unlike archeology on any single planet , could often locate knowledge and technology far in advance of contemporary levels . This made interstellar archeology a potent means to advance scientific , technical and medical understanding . ( ) Archaeology was a course taught at Starfleet Academy . ( ) The Rutian s employed starship s for missions of archaeology . ( ) Important archaeological digs on Qo ' noS yielded some interest to Human s in the concept of what the death process is like for Klingon s . ( ) An A & A officer was a position on Starfleet vessel s in the 23rd century which specialized in archaeology , anthropology , and ancient civilizations . ( ) In 1996 , Chakotay , while pondering what he would do with his life if trapped in the past , believed he could become an archaeologist of note , as there were still many important finds to be found on Earth in the late 20th and early 21st centuries . ( ) Archaeology was an interest of both Jean - Luc Picard and Neral . ( ; ) The archaeology lab is one of the science lab oratories on starships . ( ) The Gorlan prayer stick was an artifact of no real importance to anyone , except for students of archaeology . ( ) According to Commander Tomalak , the Romulan s were studying Nelvana III with orbital probe s for archaeological research . ( ) Raymond Marr went on an archaeological dig in the mountains of Omicron Theta shortly before the planet was devastated by the Crystalline Entity . ( ) In 2365 , Captain Donald Varley of the heard rumors of archaeological digs that made the Iconian s seem more real . ( ) Later that year , Wesley Crusher bemoaned the fact that he would have to share a shuttlecraft with Jean - Luc Picard for six hours on the way to Starbase 515 and wondered what he would talk to him about . Ensign Sonya Gomez suggested archaeology . ( ) Kamala , while reading Jean - Luc Picard ' s mind in 2368 , told him that she liked to stay informed on a wide variety of subjects . She once said " " One never knows when the subject might turn to Ventanan archaeology . " " ( ) In 2369 , Captain Picard worked at an archaeological dig on Marlonia , where he took some cookware found at the site . ( ) Later that year , Picard wanted to talk to Dr . Mowray at his archaeological site on Landris II , but he could not as the ' s stellar cartography department requested a communications blackout while performing an experiment . ( ) Jadzia Dax had a Premier Distinction in exoarchaeology . ( ) According to a cut scene from , Marla Aster taught exoarchaeology on Earth before joining the crew of the USS Enterprise - D The Daystrom Institute has its own dedicated Archaeological Council . ( ) Arctus Baran and his group of mercenaries robbed many archaeological sites of ancient artifacts in 2370 that were Romulan in origin while searching for the Stone of Gol , a Vulcan weapon known to Picard as " " one of the most devastating " " weapons ever invented . ( ) Tagus III held one of the most important archaeological sites in the known galaxy . ( ) In 2373 , Veer attempted to contact his and Forra Gegen ' s supporters at the Circle of Archeology to acquire a research vessel to track down the and confirm their " Distant Origin theory " . ( ) Kathryn Janeway considered the fact that the Hirogen had built their communications network around a microsingularity was the kind of archaeological puzzle that had always fascinated her . ( ) In 2374 , archaeologists on Bajor who were in the process of excavating the ancient lost city of B ' hala when they found something they thought Benjamin Sisko , the Emissary of the Prophets might want to see ; a stone tablet inscribed in Bajoran with the words " " Welcome , Emissary . " " ( ) Later that year , Molly O ' Brien fell into a time portal on Golana and was sent three hundred years into the past . Odo talked to the Bajoran Archaeological Institute to see what he could find out . His information discovered that the portal was constructed by a civilization that vanished 2 , 000 years before . ( ) In an illusion B ' Elanna Torres had in 2376 while she was near death , she envisioned that Chakotay came to her with a Klingon artifact lodged in the port nacelle of her Class 2 shuttle . He told her she might have found the most important archaeological find in Klingon history . ( ) The Federation sent archaeological expeditions to such planet s as M - 113 , Exo III , Camus II , Kurl and Hanoran II . ( ; ; )