9781422284780

When you say the word “archaeologist,” a lot of people think of Indiana Jones. He is a make-believe archaeologist from the movies, beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). It seemed that every time Jones went looking for ancient objects, he ran into dangerous situa- tions that called for him to use his fists, his pistol, or the bullwhip he always carried. Real archaeologists don’t usually face quite as much danger as Indiana Jones. (If they did, they wouldn’t survive.) Like Indy, though, they look for ancient objects. An archaeologist goes on digs. Digs are what they sound like: Ar- chaeologists and their helpers use shovels to dig up dirt and find what’s

Life at a dig is not glamourous. The work of archaeologists calls for them to get into the dirt and mud, digging back through time to discover connections to humankind’s past.

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