| In the latter half of the twentieth century, a body of historic preservation legislation emerged in the United States to regulate land use and development. Archaeologists, architectural historians, preservation officers, and industrial historians were among the specialists enlisted to help developers navigate the profuse and sophisticated "compliance" regulations. By 1985, this cadre of consultants had reformed---and transformed---into a profession known as cultural resource management (CRM). The community-based, compliance-oriented work of CRM has revolutionized the preservation industry in its practice, theoretical approaches, and professional identity. For archaeologists, the impact of cultural resource management has been profound and dramatic, opening dialogues concerning the role of project constituents, "ownership" of heritage properties, and the professional identity of archaeologists themselves. No longer the province of "shovel bums" or university-based scholars, archaeology has reinvented itself as a vocal partner in corporate boardrooms and government agencies, and engaged new methodologies and "trowel's edge" philosophies. Multiple and disparate audiences continue to challenge archaeologists working in CRM who must reconcile their profession's scholastic expectations with the demands of the decidedly non-academic "CRM process.";This project enters the dialogue from an ethnographic perspective, and one that focuses on self- and external constructions of professional identity among archaeologists. How do academically-trained archaeologists embedded in a regulation-mandated, client driven occupation managing to find fulfillment in their work? What strategies do they deploy to balance their personal needs and that of the company? Do those working in CRM consider themselves archaeologists, heritage industry workers, or in fact something else altogether? How do public and media perceptions and the "adventurer-archaeologist" trope contribute to archaeologists' own self-definition? I explored these issues during twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork which I conducted at Northeast Archaeological Consultants (NOAC), a medium-sized CRM firm in the Northeastern United States, from July 2000--July 2001. Drawing upon participation-observation, material culture analysis, archival data, and informant interviews, I explore individual and institutional markers of professional identity at NOAC, how the firm's corporate culture is reproduced and disseminated, and the broader implications for the profession of archaeology. |
