Introduction
The licensing of archaeologists is one part of a system of quality control of archaeological heritage management (AHM), sometimes known as archaeological resource management (ARM), cultural resource management (CRM), contract archaeology, rescue archaeology, and preventive archaeology. The other two parts of quality control are: oversight of an ongoing project by the appropriate government agencies; and review and approval of the final product or report by the proper authorities. Licensing often involves requiring registration of qualified archaeologists at the national or provincial or even local level, and it can also involve review of a candidate’s qualifications on a project-by-project basis. Such a review can include personal interviews and submission of prior work upon which to base a certification of the archaeologist’s ability to complete a project in an acceptable manner.
Definition
While quality control in archaeology has always been an issue, it did not really...
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Further Reading
Ciuchini, P. 2010. Archaeological policies and practices across Europe: National developments and international trends. Unpublished manuscript for a course entitled Postgraduate module archaeology in the EU at the University College of Dublin. (A summary of several European countries attempts at quality control and laws).
Dutch archaeology quality standard. n.d. Available at: www.sikb.nl/upload/documents/archeo/knauk.pdf. (Very specific and detailed standards of research performance for conducting archaeological projects in the Netherlands).
Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) code of conduct. n.d. Available at: http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/node-files/code_conduct.pdf. (A general code of ethics and qualification maintenance for professional archaeologists).
Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) introduction to standards and guidance. n.d. Available at: http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/node-files/ifa_standards_intro.pdf. (A very detailed set of standards for conducting various types of archaeological projects in the UK).
King, T.F. 2008. Cultural resource laws and practice. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press (An overview of cultural resource management in the United States including quality control issues).
Register of Professional Archaeologists’ (RPA) code of conduct. n.d. Available at: http://www.rpanet.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=3. (General ethics and an archaeologist’s obligations towards the obligations towards colleagues, clients and the public).
Register of Professional Archaeologists’ (RPA) standards of research performance. n.d. Available at: http://www.rpanet.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=4. (General standards on how an archaeologist should prepare and conduct research).
Willems, W., and M. van den Dries. 2007. Quality management in archaeology. Oxford: Oxbow Books (This is a series of articles on how countries approach archaeological quality management, mainly in Europe).
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Wheaton, T.R. (2020). Archaeological Licenses. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30018-0_1183
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