Archaeology Month 2023 - Q&A Julia A. King

What is your job title and responsibilities? 

I am professor of anthropology and chair of the department of anthropology and sociology at St. Mary's College of Maryland, a four-year public liberal arts college in southern Maryland.

What does archaeology mean to you? 

You often start out in archaeology to learn about the past but then it sneaks up on you and you find out archaeology can really tell you about the world you live in and how that world came to be.

Why did you decide to join the field of archaeology? 

I have wanted to be an archaeologist since I was in middle school. My father worked in construction and would bring home fossils and old objects and these things fired my imagination.

What would you say is your biggest professional accomplishment or the biggest professional challenge you've faced? 

Several things rank as accomplishments: becoming a professor of archaeology to engage emerging generations of archaeologists; working with Indigenous people in Virginia and Maryland to reveal how archaeology holds keys to their past; and being recognized by the Society for Historical Archaeology with their top award in scholarship.  Challenges: in the past, at least when I was coming along, archaeology could be full of "gatekeepers," or people who didn't necessarily think women belonged in the field. That has changed -- my sister archaeologists and I made sure of that! -- and the field is wide open to everyone now!

What words of wisdom would you like to share with the next generations of professionals seeking to work in your field? 

You get one bite at the apple called life. Love what you do. Archaeology has its ups and downs like any profession but, in the end, there's nothing more fun than digging into history.

Fun Question: What has been your coolest find since starting this field?

In archaeology, everything is a cool find.