Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality And 21st Century Archaeology

Recently, archaeologists have felt pressured to prove that their discipline is not just a purely academic pursuit, but rather a practically relevant and useful profession. As it happens, during the Depression Era archaeology did prove to be just that. New Deal work relief programs were designed to spend more funds on labor than equipment, to provide minimal competition with businesses in a normal economy, and, for the most part, to invest in American culture. All of these criteria made archaeology a perfect candidate for inclusion in work relief programs, and the field would gradually transform from a hobby into a profession. During this time, archaeology was done on a scale unprecedented in the US and rivaled some of the larger excavations in the Old World, such as those in Egypt, the Near East or Europe. Join our host and special guest Dr. Bernard Means and find out how New Deal archaeology set changes in motion that affected the way we do archaeology in the US – from the development of standardized pr