NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico has launched a free Archaeology Field Training Program to provide state residents with skills to work on archeological projects.
The primary goal, according to John Taylor-Montoya, Executive Director of the Office of Archaeological Studies, is to help preserve culture and heritage in New Mexico while modern development projects are underway.
“By bolstering the workforce, that we’re helping to get development projects and critical infrastructure projects done quickly or at a quicker pace. You know, a lot of those have to have an environmental and archaeological review before they’re approved,” Taylor-Montoya explained.
Participants in the program will get hands-on training designed to prepare them to become a field technician, a role open to anyone who has no prior experience, or a supervisor, which requires the applicant to have a degree or be working toward a degree in a relevant field.
“For the entry-level folks, we’ll go into sort of the nuts and bolts of things, get into the basics of, you know, what archaeology is, what artifacts are, and then we’ll start getting them prepared to work in the field,” Taylor-Montoya said, adding, “And for the advanced track, at that point, we’ll pivot towards getting them ready to have a leadership position. And so we’ll focus more on, you know, when you’re in charge of a crew, when you’re a field supervisor, here’s the aspects of the law that you’re going to need to apply.”
The training is divided into three sections: a two-week-long online course, three days of field training, and three weeks of field experience. Taylor-Montoya said there is a wide variety of artifacts archaeologists may come across in New Mexico, such as stone tools from the last ice age and the Pueblo era, Indigenous pottery, or horseshoes and glass bottles from the 19th century.
If artifacts are discovered, archaeologists will work with landowners and developers on how to move forward.
“You know, or is it something that, you know, may not be significant?” Taylor-Montoya said about the discovery of artifacts. “And so, actually, in the historic preservation realm of this, there’s a lot of different outcomes that can happen. And a lot of times, the development still happens.”
The New Mexico Legislature gave the New Mexico Department of Agriculture $300,000 to implement the program in coordination with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. The training program is currently taking place monthly now through January.
To learn more information, including how to apply, click here.
