Digging for Credit: Early Archaeological Field Schools in the American Southwest

Abstract

Digging in the earth, uncovering long-buried objects, and musing about past societies have long entranced humankind. As anthropology—including archaeology—became an established scientifichumanistic discipline, universities began offering specialized training and advanced degrees in archaeology. Tracing the beginnings of awarding university credit for digging in the dirt has been a nostalgic excursion, and it has uncovered tales of puzzling prehistoric clues, deep attachments to the essence of a place, camp esprit, and logistical travails made bearable only by the passage of time.