Spark Tees Valley
Name: John
Role: Archaeologist
Info: John helps people understand what life was like in the past from digging at historical sites and working out how people lived in the past
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In Summary:
Meet John, who has a brilliant job as both an archaeologist and a museum curator. His work is all about going on adventures to learn about history!
What does an Archaeologist do? When John is working outdoors, he does lots of digging trenches in the ground to find things hidden underneath. He looks for “tiny bits of the past” to help us understand the people who lived in our towns and cities a long time ago. He also supervises other archaeologists to help them figure out what they have found.
What does a Museum Curator do? Sometimes John works inside a museum. His job there is to take the objects found in the ground and make them really exciting for visitors. He helps people understand what these old objects are.
What skills do you need?
• Digging: You need physical skills, like being able to use a shovel.
• Explaining: John has to take complicated “long words” and explain them simply so that everyone can understand the history.
• Writing and Speaking: He does lots of writing about his discoveries and talks to big audiences to share what he has found.
How did he get this job? John realised that he loved asking questions and uncovering answers. He went to the city of York to try out archaeology for a couple of days and discovered that he absolutely loved digging. After that, he went to university to get a degree in archaeology.
John loves exploring, whether he is finding a tiny piece of pottery that tells a story, or pointing out something cool on an old building that nobody noticed before.
Think of it like this: Being an archaeologist is a bit like being a detective for history. Instead of looking for fingerprints to solve a crime today, John looks for clues buried in the mud to solve the mysteries of how people lived thousands of years ago.