Steve asks a simple question to which I believe there is no simple 
     answer. I will hazard an answer anyway. 
     
     My glib reply aside, archaeology is one of the few disciplines that 
     involve the observation/collection of complex data in the field and 
     data analysis and interpretation efforts in the lab/office that are so 
     distinct and so different from one another with respect to the skills 
     and abilities required.
     
     Yes, there are the recently minted MAs with only a couple of years 
     experience who don't really have a clue about how to do fieldwork or 
     read soil, recognize features, etc.  On the other hand, there are the 
     experienced field hands for whom excavation is intuitive and almost 
     "second nature" who have no idea of the broad interpretive context of 
     the material that they excavate, let alone the applications of social 
     theory for that analysis.  Obviously, meaningful analysis of data can 
     not take place unless the field data are appropriately observed and 
     recorded. So, both aspects are necessary to the overall enterprise. 
     And I won't even talk about supervisory and management skills! 
     
     What to do?  Personally, I don't think folks should be admitted to 
     grad school without three or four years of diverse field and 
     laboratory experience under their belts!  They can learn supervision 
     while in grad school, maybe if given the chance, but basic field 
     smarts comes  from long experience in the dirt, and preferably in an 
     environment where the staff makes preliminary interpretations in the 
     field which are widely discussed. This too is a luxury in the world of 
     short budgets, long commutes, and family obligations that creep up 
     seemingly without warning. 
     
     Seems that what I am talking about puts a considerable burden on field 
     supervisors and other senior staff to treat projects as educational 
     opportunities for more junior staff.  Now there's an idea! 
     
     John
     
     
     
     John P. McCarthy, SOPA
     Sr. Project Manager - Cultural Resources
     Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc.
     9001 Edmonston Road
     Greenbelt, MD  20770
     301-220-1876 voc
     301-220-2595 fax