Standing on Business: Navigating the Economic and Legislative Landscape of Cultural Resource Management

Summary

This is an abstract from the "United States Archaeology at Crossroads Part 1: The Obstacles, the Failures, and the Victories" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The private sector of cultural resource management archaeology identified the current challenges and threats to the profession at least a decade ago, yet existential threats to ethical, sustainable, and meaningful professional opportunities remain prevalent workforce conditions. Champions of industry from larger firms continue to urge market consolidation as a solution to concerns about labor conditions and quality of work output, however legislative and general market trends appear to favor less market consolidation and more specialization in our profession. I aim to discuss general market trends that provide economic drivers for employment in cultural resource management, and relate them to broader concerns regarding labor conditions, training, and recruiting and retention in the private sector.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• United States Archaeology at Crossroads Part 1: The Obstacles, the Failures, and the Victories

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52492