Anthropologists and Archeologists
Archaeologist: The civilizations of the ancient world are countless, and the Arab region we live in is rich with many ancient civilizations, like the Pharaonic civilization in Egypt, the Mesopotamian civilization in Iraq, and the ancient Yemeni civilization. If you've ever gone on a trip with your family or school to visit a museum or an archaeological site in your country, you've certainly seen many massive statues, ancient artifacts, and works of art that preserve the greatness of ancient civilizations that existed thousands of years ago. But have you ever thought about how these artifacts were discovered? How we came to know their history and what the inscriptions and symbols on them mean? How they were transported and preserved until they reached the museums where they're displayed today? All these tasks, and more, are handled by experts and specialists known as "archaeologists." Anthropologist: Have you ever thought about who you are? Where you came from? Where your parents and ancestors came from? Why you live on this particular patch of Earth? Why your skin is a certain color and someone else's is different? Why you walk on two legs and not four? Why you speak Arabic while someone else speaks English? Why you love a certain food and dislike another? All these questions have occupied humans since they first appeared on Earth, so throughout different eras, scientists have worked to find answers to most of them, and a field known as "anthropology" emerged, dedicated to studying human beings all over the world. Anthropology is a word of Greek origin that means "the science of man" in Arabic. Today, anthropologists study human history and behavior, how people adapt to different environments, and how they communicate and mix with one another.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Collect information and make judgments through observation, interviews, and review of documents.
- Research, survey, or assess sites of past societies and cultures in search of answers to specific research questions.
- Write about and present research findings for a variety of specialized and general audiences.
- Plan and direct research to characterize and compare the economic, demographic, health care, social, political, linguistic, and religious institutions of distinct cultural groups, communities, and organizations.
- Identify culturally specific beliefs and practices affecting health status and access to services for distinct populations and communities, in collaboration with medical and public health officials.
- Train others in the application of ethnographic research methods to solve problems in organizational effectiveness, communications, technology development, policy making, and program planning.
- Advise government agencies, private organizations, and communities regarding proposed programs, plans, and policies and their potential impacts on cultural institutions, organizations, and communities.
- Create data records for use in describing and analyzing social patterns and processes, using photography, videography, and audio recordings.
- Develop intervention procedures, using techniques such as individual and focus group interviews, consultations, and participant observation of social interaction.
- Develop and test theories concerning the origin and development of past cultures.
- Lead field training sites and train field staff, students, and volunteers in excavation methods.
- Collaborate with economic development planners to decide on the implementation of proposed development policies, plans, and programs based on culturally institutionalized barriers and facilitating circumstances.
- Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments.
- Organize public exhibits and displays to promote public awareness of diverse and distinctive cultural traditions.
- Formulate general rules that describe and predict the development and behavior of cultures and social institutions.
- Study archival collections of primary historical sources to help explain the origins and development of cultural patterns.
- Apply traditional ecological knowledge and assessments of culturally distinctive land and resource management institutions to assist in the resolution of conflicts over habitat protection and resource enhancement.
- Enhance the cultural sensitivity of elementary and secondary curricula and classroom interactions in collaboration with educators and teachers.
- Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
- Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.