I feel like I should know this but I don’t. I’m about to start my MS in archival science. how closely will I will be working with archaeologists?
It really depends! The historical archaeologists at my university work with archivists fairly frequently, but I'm not able to say how much that extends to the rest of the field. Some archaeologists like @midden-maiden are prehistoric archaeologists and thus cannot read at all. They will likely never be seen in the archives.
If you do end up working with archaeologists, I think we'll generally be interested in documents that relate to structures. This will probably be visual media like maps, photos, or postcards. We might also be interested in primary source material related to the people who used to inhabit those buildings, but that's generally more in depth research than we usually do.
If you do encounter us, please speak in a gentle voice and do not make any sudden movements. If we become agitated try feeding us a pop tart and a bottle of Gatorade. Archaeologists during lab season (the winter months) can become dirt deprived and ornery. Should you encounter an archaeologists who has adapted to the lab season particularly poorly, please contact a cultural anthropologist to escort them to a safe and supervised environment.
Anyone else from either side, archivist or archaeologist, is welcome to chime in!
-Reid
