Careers in History: Archeology

Benjamin Hoksbergen

I am one of those lucky people who always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I recently discovered my third grade journal in a box of old elementary school papers where I’d written “When I grow up, I would like to be an arkeoligist.”  I never wavered from that goal despite plenty of admonitions that I’d never be able to make a living at it.  It was only natural then, when I came to Calvin College, that I sought out Dr. Bert de Vries as a mentor.  I majored in history, and was one of the first students to take advantage of the archaeology minor program at Calvin.  I participated in the 1996 Umm el-Jimal field school and have been a professional archaeologist ever since.

In the years following graduation, I found work in the cultural resource management industry.  I put in my time in the trenches, making a decent living as a “shovel bum” - traveling around the country going from archaeological project to archaeological project.  I’d be excavating a 17th century English settlement on Chesapeake Bay one week, uncovering an 8,000-year-old lithic workshop along the Allegheny River the next, and slogging through southern Louisiana swamps to record sites along a proposed natural gas pipeline the week after that.  It was great fun living on the road, seeing country I wouldn’t see otherwise, living in hotels with a whole field crew of archaeologists from all around the country, and getting paid to do archaeological fieldwork every day!  In five years time, I managed to work in 13 states, Puerto Rico, and Jordan where I returned to once again for the 1998 field season at Umm el-Jimal.

By 2002, I’d decided to take the next step in my career and get my master’s degree in anthropology.  I attended Iowa State University where I received my MA in 2004.  Upon graduation, one of my former employers, Alexander Archaeological Consultants of Chattanooga, offered me a position as installation archaeologist at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The job was through a five year contract, but after three years, the Army offered me a permanent government position. Currently, I’m employed as the installation archaeologist at Redstone Arsenal reviewing Army projects for potential impacts to significant archaeological sites, overseeing excavations on sites that are scheduled to be impacted, surveying the base for unrecorded sites, and orchestrating public outreach to teach local school groups, clubs, and other interested public about local archaeology and the importance of preserving America’s cultural heritage.

Roger Kiers

I had wanted to become an archaeologist since middle school but wasn’t convinced it was a “real job” until Prof. de Vries started the Archaeology minor midway through my Calvin career. But I was majoring in Geology at the time and, in combination with the Archaeology minor and Umm el-Jimal field school, I was well prepared for graduate school and a future career in archaeology.

I received an MA in Anthropology from the University of Washington, where I had opportunities to work at sites ranging from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, to Lewis and Clark’s Fort Clatsop in Oregon, to 8,000-year-old Native American campsites in western Washington. I first found employment in the Cultural Resources Management field with a private firm in Seattle, and since 2007 have worked for the Washington State Department of Transportation.

As a transportation archaeologist, I am responsible for ensuring that our agency complies with state and federal laws that apply to archaeological sites, historic structures, and culturally important areas. I enjoy the challenges that come with balancing our agency’s mission of operating and improving transportation systems with our responsibility as stewards of our state’s cultural resources. I am continually learning new things about our rich and diverse cultural heritage, while working on a wide variety of projects and sites around the state.