Interrogates the boundaries between amateur and professional archaeology

Until the mid-twentieth century, professional archaeologists readily worked alongside amateur or avocational archaeologists—those who did not have an academic, professional, or governmental affiliation. However, the gulf between professionals and amateurs has grown in recent decades, and amateurs are now often viewed more warily and are even conflated with looters. Amateurs in North American Archaeology traces the trajectory of this change, noting its implications for archaeological studies across the continent.

The volume’s contributors discuss time periods, noteworthy individuals, archaeological societies, and geographical regions, offering a wide-ranging perspective on a topic that is frequently overlooked. Though the book evaluates the past, it also makes crucial claims for the future of effective, inclusive archaeological study, emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives and alternate interpretations.

Andrew L. Christenson is curator of the Museum of Indigenous People in Prescott, Arizona. He is author of Tracing Archaeology's Past: The Historiography of Archaeology and An Essential Relationship: Amateurs and Professionals in Central Arizona Archaeology.