What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Anthropologists and Archeologists in the U.S. earn more than $70,770 a year — the middle 80% land between $49,050 and $108,060. About 8,990 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Anthropologists and Archeologists”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$70,770typical pay / year
8,990people in this work
$108,060+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Learning3
Study aspects of humans within past and present societies
+Compile field notes and interview summaries from last season, extract patterns in settlement and ritual…
Study aspects of humans within past and present societies
+Compile field notes and interview summaries from last season, extract patterns in settlement and ritual behaviour, produce a methods-and-results brief with maps and coordinate table, and submit the draft for peer review by the end of next week.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISMicrosoft ExcelESCOO*NETWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Study social and cultural issues
+Assemble a literature review on social organisation and belief systems from our trench sites, summarise five…
Study social and cultural issues
+Assemble a literature review on social organisation and belief systems from our trench sites, summarise five theoretical frameworks, note which apply to each locus, and prepare a short presentation for the team meeting on Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeAdobe Photoshopjob descriptionsO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Collect information through interviews
+Collect oral histories from three local residents who worked the site in the 1970s, record each interview…
Collect information through interviews
+Collect oral histories from three local residents who worked the site in the 1970s, record each interview with consent, complete the interviewer notes and metadata sheet, and upload transcriptions to the project archive by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptionsO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Analysing3
Analyze human remains and artifacts
+Inventory the osteological samples and associated tool assemblages, record context and condition, run basic…
Analyze human remains and artifacts
+Inventory the osteological samples and associated tool assemblages, record context and condition, run basic metrics and produce a spreadsheet of measurements with photos attached, then flag specimens needing specialist dating.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Examine archaeological remains and artifacts
+Carefully inspect the stratified deposits and surface artifacts in trench B3, photograph each find with…
Examine archaeological remains and artifacts
+Carefully inspect the stratified deposits and surface artifacts in trench B3, photograph each find with scale, label context numbers, describe material, condition and tentative function in the field log, and flag anything needing conservation before midday tomorrow.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISjob descriptionsO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Analyze data, samples, and artifacts
+Process last week's pottery, bone and soil samples: record provenience and measurements, run basic counts and…
Analyze data, samples, and artifacts
+Process last week's pottery, bone and soil samples: record provenience and measurements, run basic counts and summary tables, note unusual attributes for specialist review, and compile a single dataset ready for lab specialists by Friday afternoon.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
The daily work22
Prepare reports and present findings
+Write the site summary, catalogue the finds with accession numbers, attach scaled photos and plans, and…
Prepare reports and present findings
+Write the site summary, catalogue the finds with accession numbers, attach scaled photos and plans, and prepare a 10‑minute illustrated briefing for Tuesday’s lab meeting so supervisors and the museum registrar can approve the report.
The tools that do the workAdobe AcrobatAdobe Illustratorjob descriptionsO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Excavate historical and archaeological sites
+Lay out the trench grid, record stratigraphy and provenience in the field ledger, tag and bag each context…
Excavate historical and archaeological sites
+Lay out the trench grid, record stratigraphy and provenience in the field ledger, tag and bag each context with unique IDs, and upload the daily excavation log and provenience plan before knocking off at 18:00 so the project archaeologist can review tomorrow’s schedule.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISjob descriptionsO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Understand and describe the past of humanity
+Synthesize the radiocarbon dates, artifact typologies and stratigraphic sequence into a coherent narrative of…
Understand and describe the past of humanity
+Synthesize the radiocarbon dates, artifact typologies and stratigraphic sequence into a coherent narrative of occupation phases, draft a 1,000‑word interpretive section linking material culture to past behaviour, and send it to Dr. Morales by Friday for inclusion in the site report.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeESCOWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Analyze how language affects social life
+Collect and transcribe the recorded oral histories and field notes, code linguistic variants observed in…
Analyze how language affects social life
+Collect and transcribe the recorded oral histories and field notes, code linguistic variants observed in inscriptions and graffiti, produce a short analytical memo on how language use marks social roles, and circulate it to the cultural team by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsESCOWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Research all aspects of life pertaining to humans
+Compile the osteological, botanical and artefact datasets, run basic descriptive analyses to identify…
Research all aspects of life pertaining to humans
+Compile the osteological, botanical and artefact datasets, run basic descriptive analyses to identify subsistence and craft patterns, draft a methods and results section tying these lines of evidence to human behaviour, and submit the draft to the PI by Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESCOWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
+Prepare a two‑hour seminar plan with learning objectives, a student reading list, a hands‑on lab using…
Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
+Prepare a two‑hour seminar plan with learning objectives, a student reading list, a hands‑on lab using pottery typology and a marking rubric, upload materials and the assignment brief to the course folder by next Wednesday so the grad tutor can post them to students.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Assess archeological sites for resource management, development, or conservation purposes and recommend methods for site protection.
+Assess the flagged site on County Road 12 for resource management and development risk, record GPS locations,…
Assess archeological sites for resource management, development, or conservation purposes and recommend methods for site protection.
+Assess the flagged site on County Road 12 for resource management and development risk, record GPS locations, soil profile and artifact density, evaluate threats, and recommend specific protection methods and monitoring intervals for the county preservation officer by Friday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments.
+Run a participatory action study with the Riverton community this month: observe daily work practices at the…
Conduct participatory action research in communities and organizations to assess how work is done and to design work systems, technologies, and environments.
+Run a participatory action study with the Riverton community this month: observe daily work practices at the craft cooperative, conduct three group workshops to map workflows, co-design two prototype workstations, and deliver a short report with implementation steps to the cooperative board.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.
+Draft a grant application for the regional landscape survey: write aims, methods, budget for a 12‑month field…
Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.
+Draft a grant application for the regional landscape survey: write aims, methods, budget for a 12‑month field season, justify community engagement and conservation outcomes, and assemble CVs and letters so the proposal is ready for submission by the 15th of next month.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Organize public exhibits and displays to promote public awareness of diverse and distinctive cultural traditions.
+Plan the summer exhibit on local ceramic traditions: select ten representative artifacts with labels, write…
Organize public exhibits and displays to promote public awareness of diverse and distinctive cultural traditions.
+Plan the summer exhibit on local ceramic traditions: select ten representative artifacts with labels, write public‑facing object texts, design the display sequence for the gallery, and produce an installation checklist for the museum curator two weeks before opening.
The tools that do the workAdobe InDesignO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Enhance the cultural sensitivity of elementary and secondary curricula and classroom interactions in collaboration with educators and teachers.
+Collaborate with Lincoln Elementary to revise the fourth‑grade unit: integrate three lesson plans that…
Enhance the cultural sensitivity of elementary and secondary curricula and classroom interactions in collaboration with educators and teachers.
+Collaborate with Lincoln Elementary to revise the fourth‑grade unit: integrate three lesson plans that foreground local Indigenous histories, produce teacher notes and classroom activities, and deliver printable materials and a one‑hour training session next month.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Describe artifacts' physical properties or attributes, such as the materials from which artifacts are made and their size, shape, function, and decoration.
+Record physical descriptions for the newly catalogued pottery lot: measure dimensions, note materials and…
Describe artifacts' physical properties or attributes, such as the materials from which artifacts are made and their size, shape, function, and decoration.
+Record physical descriptions for the newly catalogued pottery lot: measure dimensions, note materials and manufacturing marks, photograph surfaces, classify function and decoration style, and add the complete artifact records to the site catalogue today.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Design and coordinate data collection
+Design the field data collection plan for the Blackwater survey: list required observation fields, sampling…
Design and coordinate data collection
+Design the field data collection plan for the Blackwater survey: list required observation fields, sampling frequency, GPS accuracy targets, team roles, and a three-week schedule so the permit holder and site director can approve before mobilization next Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Record and manage field observations
+Compile and clean the week's trench notes and surface observations from Grid A and Grid B, standardise…
Record and manage field observations
+Compile and clean the week's trench notes and surface observations from Grid A and Grid B, standardise vocabulary, geotag each record, link photos to entries, and produce a searchable field log for the lab team by Thursday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Accessjob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Connect findings with past environments
+Synthesize the pottery, pollen, and sediment logs from Trenches 3–7 into a contextual report linking…
Connect findings with past environments
+Synthesize the pottery, pollen, and sediment logs from Trenches 3–7 into a contextual report linking artifacts to past shoreline conditions, include stratigraphic timelines and a plain‑language summary for the regional curator by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISjob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Assess building sites for site preservation
+Walk the proposed development parcel at 117 Oak Street, record building fabric, visible deposits and…
Assess building sites for site preservation
+Walk the proposed development parcel at 117 Oak Street, record building fabric, visible deposits and disturbance, recommend preservation buffer zones with measured distances, and submit the site assessment with photos to the preservation officer within 48 hours.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Conduct fieldwork in remote areas
+Plan the ten-day remote field campaign to Survey Camp B: list personnel, ration and fuel needs, equipment…
Conduct fieldwork in remote areas
+Plan the ten-day remote field campaign to Survey Camp B: list personnel, ration and fuel needs, equipment checklist, emergency contacts, data backup routine and daily observation targets so the PI can sign off before departure next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Draw and build on knowledge from sciences
+Sift field notebooks, stratigraphic drawings and lab notes, extract testable hypotheses linking soil…
Draw and build on knowledge from sciences
+Sift field notebooks, stratigraphic drawings and lab notes, extract testable hypotheses linking soil chemistry, artifact distribution and skeletal markers, then write a 1,000-word evidence summary that cites the samples and recommends two follow-up analyses within two weeks.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Perform market research on cultural demand
+Compile recent survey responses, visitor logs and local craft sales to map which heritage themes attract…
Perform market research on cultural demand
+Compile recent survey responses, visitor logs and local craft sales to map which heritage themes attract paying visitors, produce a one-page demand brief with three target audiences and pricing sensitivity observations for the regional museum by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Officejob descriptions
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Research norms, values, and behavior of societies
+Review ethnographic notes, interview transcripts and burial inventories to identify recurring norms about…
Research norms, values, and behavior of societies
+Review ethnographic notes, interview transcripts and burial inventories to identify recurring norms about food, kinship and ritual, draft a 1,200-word analysis of how those values shape artifact deposition with three illustrative quotes and citations by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Examine human economic behavior
+Pull economic indicators from household assemblages, trade goods and labor markers, calculate indicators of…
Examine human economic behavior
+Pull economic indicators from household assemblages, trade goods and labor markers, calculate indicators of surplus and exchange, then prepare a two-page report showing who produced, who consumed and where value flowed in the site economy within ten days.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OfficeWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Investigate diseases and their impacts on humans over time
+Gather paleopathology records, cemetery age profiles and faunal disease indicators, synthesise incidence…
Investigate diseases and their impacts on humans over time
+Gather paleopathology records, cemetery age profiles and faunal disease indicators, synthesise incidence trends and likely public-health stressors, then produce a clear 1,500-word brief on disease impacts on mortality and social organization for the grant deadline in three weeks.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft OfficeWikipedia
Pasted it? Good. When the reply comes back, push once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part. — Did this prompt help?
Says who?
These are the pages we read to build this. Open any of them and check us.
The logs, files & records this job keeps
Shared with other careers — the same record means something different in each.
Related careers
Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.
The LLOS Work Atlas is the world's largest evidenced task library — a map of human work, with a ready prompt behind every task. 1,774 careers · every task named by the sources that witnessed it — O*NET, ESCO, real job descriptions, Wikipedia — and the deepest tasks by several at once. And it is honest about limits: where AI cannot help, the map says so.
The rest of the map
Same library, five ways in.
Copyright © LLOS.ai · 2026 — original pedagogy, voice, and design — all rights reserved.
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses
Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses