POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Archaeologist, Lab Technician

Hours: Temporary, Part-time

Reports To: Executive Director

Location: Piedmont Discovery Center, Charlottesville, Virginia. Serving the people and environment of the Piedmont Ecoregion

Pay: $27.50/hr 

Term: Start date: Flexible, August 1-10 window. With a review at 2 weeks and 1 month. Expect 2 days of work per week, August 1 – October 15, 2024

Note: This position is temporary, part time, and allows for scheduling flexibility and remote data entry.

Join Piedmont Discovery Center as Archaeological Lab Technician and help analyze and curate prehistoric artifacts of the Piedmont of Virginia. This is an opportunity to fill a vital role in the conservation community as it strives to prevent erasure around indigenous artifacts in private collections. This position will work with the very first substantial projectile point collection gifted to PDC for education and research purposes. We will work in partnership with the family that gifted the collection, supporting donors, and the Monacan Indian Nation to assure the collection is well-documented, curated, and maximized for its ability to spread an awareness around prehistoric lifeways in the Piedmont of Virginia.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

As Archaeological Lab Technician you will take measurements and enter data for each of several hundred prehistoric artifacts, including projectile points, drills, knives, hammerstones, and axes. You will take dozens of measurements of each artifact and enter the resulting data into PDC’s database, and maintain quality in organizing, labeling, and storing the artifacts. You may be asked to work alongside volunteers and apprentices on occasion, and to provide progress updates periodically in order to maintain an understanding of the time cost of the process. You will be asked to report to 2 locations for lab work sessions, including the PDC field station, the Quarry Gardens at Schuyler – timing and location to be decided. You may be able to accomplish some of this work remotely, which will involve transporting and caring  for small subsets of the artifact collection.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE

  • Basic knowledge of Virginia projectile point types
  • Experience handling and measuring delicate stone artifacts using calipers
  • Able to maintain high levels of organization and care while handling artifacts
  • Ability to work independently and solve problems
  • Willingness to problem-solve and improve efficiencies in our data entry portal
  • Humble and comfortable  enough to know and communicate your needs and limitations in the workplace 
  • Focused, detail-oriented, goal-oriented, hard-working
  • Efficiency and quality will be very important with this position, given the size of the collection and the limitations we have for funding
  • Passion for natural and cultural resource education and conservation
  • Self-motivated with the ability to achieve objectives consistently 

REQUIREMENTS

  • Minimum of a BA in Archaeology, Virginia prehistory concentration a plus
  • Completion of an Archaeological Field School
  •  Experience in archaeological artifact processing
  •  Ability to lift up to 15 pounds
  • An understanding of basic projectile point morphology, and ability to identify required parts and limitations of measurements
  • Ability to determine closest matches for local/regional projectile point part using existing published imagery and data
  • Able to identify the rocks and minerals that the artifacts are made of, and know when a new type of rock, not available in the database dropdown, is encountered 
  • Master’s degree in prehistoric archaeology ideal
  • Experience working with Tribes and/or Indigenous Peoples on issues related to artifact collection, archaeological data, repatriation, and curation
  • Willingness to learn new things 
  • Reliable and on time for work 
  • Respects the intellectual rights of the company, as well as company-client relationships
  • Identify issues and notify Executive Director for quick problem solving

We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, work-related injury, covered veteran status, political ideology, marital status, or any other factor that the law protects from employment discrimination.