PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS - FIELD DIRECTOR

Scope

This document defines minimum qualifications for an individual to serve as Field Director for professional archaeological studies conducted in California. These include investigations carried out to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The Field Director is responsible for implementing the field work plan and research design established by and under the direction of the Principal Investigator (PI). The Field Director acts on behalf of the PI in the PI’s absence to conduct an archaeological investigation, and ensures that every aspect of the work meets current regulatory compliance requirements and professional technical and ethical standards.

A Field Director is appropriately qualified –as evidenced by training, education, experience, and possesses demonstrable competence in archaeological theory and methods, and in collecting, handling, analyzing, evaluating, and reporting archaeological data—in relation to the type and scope of the work proposed, and meets the following minimum qualifications in Education, Experience, and Sub-Disciplinary Experience.

Education

1. Equivalency to a graduate degree consisting of
2. A graduate degree (e.g., M.A., M.S., or Ph.D.) in Archaeology, Anthropology, Cultural Resources Management, or closely related field from an accredited institution; OR
   1. BA or BS degree in Archaeology, Anthropology, or closely related field from an accredited institution, AND
   2. Twenty-four (24) months’ experience successfully conducting archaeological investigations as a Crew Leader (See SCA PQ for Crew Leader).

Experience

1. Twenty-four (24) months’ experience successfully conducting archaeological investigations at the level of Crew Leader (in addition to Education Equivalency requirement above), AND
2. Demonstrated ability to
   1. apply appropriate archaeological theory and methodology (e.g., data collection and recording) in field situations,
   2. direct crew members,
   3. record sites and their associated cultural and natural features (e.g., hearths, stratigraphic profiles, and soils profiles),
   4. identify artifacts and cultural and natural features,
   5. evaluate archaeological resources for eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources, or local registers as appropriate, AND
   6. complete archaeological investigations (e.g., individual authorship of a thesis or dissertation, or authorship [individual or co-authorship] documenting the results of comparable archaeological investigations [e.g., excavation reports])
3. Demonstrated experience and competency with environmental and cultural resources laws and regulations (e.g., individual or co-authorship of archaeological reports or cultural resources sections of environmental documents}, AND
4. Demonstrated experience interacting and collaborating with descendant community representatives (e.g., Tribal elders and monitors and/or heritage organizations), clients, property owners, agency officials, the public, etc., AND
5. Demonstrated experience with laboratory data analysis techniques to facilitate the collection of artifacts and other data in the field in appropriate formats and amounts with appropriate documentation, AND
6. Demonstrated experience with photography, GIS mapping, soils identification, and human/faunal skeletal identification. In addition, have the experience to identify the need to defer to subject matter experts, as appropriate, for specialized analyses and or identification efforts (i.e., geoarchaeology, human and non-human bone identification, historic-period artifact identification).

Sub-disciplinary Experience:  Prehistoric Archaeology

At least twelve (12) months’ experience conducting prehistoric archaeology investigations at level of Crew Leader under the direction of an SCA-qualified Field Director or Principal Investigator at prehistoric sites.  This experience may be part of twenty-four (24) months’ experience listed under Education and/or Experience headings above.

Sub-disciplinary Experience:  Historical Archaeology

At least twelve (12) months’ experience conducting historical archaeology investigations at level of Crew Leader under the direction of an SCA-qualified Field Director or Principal Investigator at historic-period sites. This experience may be part of twenty-four (24) months’ experience listed under Education and/or Experience headings above.

(Revised 8/15/16)