The future of mankind is Unknown; we don’t know what kind of new inventions will make an appearance or what kind of threats will start causing trouble. But there is a way to know more about our future, and it’s not located in the Future! So what is it? Is there any good way to know about the future without looking at it? And the honest answer to that is, the Past. Yes, humanity has done some crazy things, and most of them are already recorded in our history books. And it’s all thanks to the brave warriors who fight with pen and shovels, and they are called Archeologists.
These guys shape our future by uncovering our past and writing down every single detail, including the cause, reasons, and sometimes the results of certain actions. These give us a better fighting chance when a similar case appears somewhere in the future. Therefore, giving us a vision of the future without looking at it. So, in this blog, we will find out all about archaeologists, including how to become an archaeologist in India. So shall we begin?
What is Archeology?
Archaeology is the study of tinkering with relics of the past and discovering what the particular era was like. They often get compared with Historians, which is fine in some areas, like studying the hard copies of some tribes. But fundamentally they work in their own separate ways. An Archaeologist plays around the physical elements left behind by our past ancestors. They study those and determine various factors like cause, use, reason, and result behind the relic.
Meanwhile, Historians mostly work with the written part of the ladder, further limiting how much information they can intake, since the writing only began less than 5000 years ago. Meanwhile, the past relics can even be traced all the way back to the day of the Primordial Stages of Earth; doesn't that sound exciting? Regardless, it is a very interesting topic that involves traveling all over the world and manually checking such relics and recording them. That’s why most students who know about this field get excited about it and turn it into their dream career.
Steps on how to become an archaeologist in India
An archeology career is a steep one, and it requires more than just wanting to be one. There is a lot of education, hands-on experience, and recommendations needed just to be qualified enough. So, without any further ado, let’s see all the important steps to crack your archaeologist qualifications in India:
Career Counselling
This is usually the first step for every student, where they sit around a career counsellor and have a productive conversation about their future. This conversation plays a major role in the life of a student because it gives them more than just a dream to become an astronaut or something. They make a humane roadmap and tell you exactly why your desired route will work for you, or not. So, we will always recommend taking a proper session regardless of your career decision, because these few hours of sessions can save or shape your future.
Secure 55% in your 12th
The first step is to secure a good score in your 12th or higher secondary education. This is a crucial step because it will make it clear whether your historical side of expertise is shining or not. Preferably try to secure more than 70%; this will make it easy to apply for archaeology courses after 12th. And if you fail to secure the minimum quota. Make sure to attempt a supplementary exam as fast as possible; otherwise, you will be wasting another year in the process.
The Primary Education
After your 12th, it’s time to clear your bachelor's and master's degrees. Remember that archaeology requires a lot of memory power, which in return expects you to complete at least your master's before you even begin your archeology career. So, here’s a comprehensive list of educational lines that you can take to clear a path for your archeology career in India:
- Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology (AIHC&A)
- A three-year-long undergraduate degree.
- Requires passing of either CUET UG or IPU CET.
- Some colleges may provide exceptions.
- Aims at providing a deep insight into the history of Indian culture and helps understand how historians and archeologists discovered and uncovered the mysteries of the past.
- Specialized field for Indian students.
- Preferred if you are interested in Indian culture alone.
- Average Annual Fee (AAF): ₹40,000
- Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology (BA in Archaeology)
- A three-year-long undergraduate degree.
- Requires passing of entrance exams like CUET UG or IPU CET.
- Aims at providing the fundamental knowledge of archaeology, like systematic ways of deciphering relics, case studies, extracurricular activities in fieldwork and so on.
- Preferred choice for all.
- Average Annual Fee (AAF): ₹10,000
- Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology and Museology (BA in Archaeology and Museology)
- A three-year-long undergraduate degree.
- Mostly merit-based, but some may require passing certain entrance exams.
- Aims at providing additional knowledge related to storing and maintaining relics in museums, including the same theories and fieldwork of the BA in Archaeology.
- Preferred choice for a career in a museum.
- Average Annual Fee (AAF): ₹20,000
- Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
- A three-year-long undergraduate degree.
- Mostly merit-based, but some may require the passing of CUET UG.
- Aims at providing fundamental knowledge about humanity through remains. It has multiple fields and includes biological anthropology too, for those who are interested.
- Also a preferred choice for most.
- Average Annual Fee (AAF): ₹20,000
You can further pursue that master’s degree of those UG programs and finally conclude your educational career with a PhD. Remember that your usual study years will be around 7 years, after your 12th, so keep that in mind and take extra steps to perform extra well in your archeology degree. That should be enough to make you a viable pick by top recruiters like the Archaeological Survey of India, or ASI for short.
Field Work
Mostly this will be included in your overall syllabus; still, that is not enough to advance in this line of field. You must constantly gain hands-on experience through voluntary work through the Archaeological Survey of India, private study tours, archaeological field schools, and also through various additional certificate courses. Always try extra hard for these, because the more experience you have, the better your chances will be to successfully become an archeologist in India.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the average archaeologist salary in India?
Ans. The final pay depends on both your work and experience. But in most cases, a new archaeologist can hope to earn at least 3 LPA or ₹20,000 per month, after excluding other benefits like provident fund. While an experienced archaeologist can earn more than double that amount.
Q2. What are some of the best archaeology courses in India?
Ans. Both BA in Archaeology and BA in Archaeology and Museology are among the best courses that you can take in order to become one yourself. You can also switch your career after completing a BA in History, although it is not a preferred choice since you will have a lot of catching up to do.
Q3. What is the best university for archeology in India?
Ans. The University of Calcutta has always been considered as one of the best in this field. So in our opinion, this is the best university for archeology in india that you can enroll in.
Q4. What are the best archaeology jobs in India?
Ans. Archaeology has a crazy ton of classes that you can aim for. For example, museum curator, bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology, archaeobotany and so on. In a way, all of these examples can be considered some of the archaeology jobs in India.
Q5. Is archeology a good career to pursue in 2025?
Ans. Without a doubt, it is one of the best and grooming lines to aim for in 2025. As new civilizations, caves, sinkholes, and human remains are discovered, more and more archaeological surveys are initiated.
