Building an Archaeological Business

Abstract

This chapter considers how professionals determine appropriate project design and evaluate archaeological needs for cultural resource management projects. As the primary decision makers in two different sizes of commercial archaeological organization undertaking cultural resource management (CRM), bidding for different types and size of CRM project across the US, the authors discuss constraints or opportunities that they encounter frequently in the management of their respective businesses. The authors also discuss the pleasures – as well as perils – of work as commercial archaeologists, the types of opportunities open to (and skills needed by) newly trained archaeologists, and the possibilities of reform of the CRM sector in the future.