Steve Boxley has asked a question that surfaces continually in
archaeology. I remember a very long drawn-out discussion about this on
arch-theory a couple years back and it has come around on arch-l, too.
 
Here's an opinion, for all that's worth. Archaeology is really two very
different sets of skills residing under the same "roof," so to speak.
Excavation skills and many laboratory skills are really sophisticated
crafts. The ability to wield the tools and respond to the physical
conditions of a site--color, texture, etc.--are all skills which are
developed ONLY through pravctice, practice, practice. There is no
substitute for experience. Also, the basic formation processes at work on
most sites are not generally so mysterious that one cannot learn them
without a formal higher education. Certainly my grad school training in
pedology, periglacial geomorphology, and other areas help me "read" a
site, but there are certainly many non-degreed excavators out there who
can do it as well or better.
 
The other sort of thing that goes by the name of archaeology is the
knowledge of theory, applications, and context. These are usually
scholarly pursuits perfected, more or less, through graduate seminars, the
theis/dissertation process, the reading of journals and scholarly books,
and the attending/participation in local, regional, national and
international conferences. That's what the MA and PhD are training people
to do. No school work, per se, can teach someone how to dig a site.
 
Now Steve asks why do excavators need a BS or BA degree. That cannot have
anything to do with archaeology. Bachellors degrees do not guarantee that
a person has developed any of the craft skills, and it is usually a sure
sign that they have not yet developed the scholarly skills or knowledge of
a post-grad. So the reason people want it is probably the same reason
people want it for applicants to manage a 7/11 or to do income tax returns
or whatever. Because they had to ask for something and our society says a
college ed means something. And it shows that you can finish what you
start. Other than that, it doesn't mean much in archaeology.
 
Dan Mouer
Virginia Commonwealth University
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http://saturn.vcu.edu/~dmouer/homepage.htm