# Anthropologists and Archeologists

US SOC code 19-3091. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/19-3091

Also called: Anthropologist, Cultural anthropologist, Archeologist, Archaeologist, Bioarcheologist.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **8,990** US anthropologists and archeologists, with median pay of **$70,770** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anthropology) of **1,800** from 1930, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for anthropologists and archeologists: AI-assisted qualitative coding and literature synthesis, 2016 to 2022. AI-assisted coding and transcription tools reduced the junior-level research assistant hours devoted to mechanical processing of fieldwork data.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-3091&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **51.7%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Anthropologists and Archeologists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1879
- Latest US employment: 8,990 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $70,770 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [24]

### All 26 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1930 | 1,800 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1970 | 4,200 (estimate) | $12,000 (estimate) | Est., National Park Service (employment) [2]; Est., IPUMS USA (pay) [4] |
| 1990 | 6,200 (estimate) | $28,000 (estimate) | Est., NPS Archeology Program (employment) [2]; Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (pay) [5] |
| 2003 | 4,550 | $40,650 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 4,510 | $43,890 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 4,790 | $45,910 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 4,960 | $49,930 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 5,250 | $53,080 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 5,230 | $53,910 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 5,570 | $53,460 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 5,100 | $54,230 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 5,370 | $56,070 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 6,060 | $57,420 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 6,560 | $58,360 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 7,040 | $59,280 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 6,980 | $61,220 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 6,470 | $63,190 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 6,120 | $62,280 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 6,020 | $62,410 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 6,720 | $63,670 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 7,180 | $66,130 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 6,650 | $61,910 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 7,350 | $63,940 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 7,720 | $63,800 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 8,070 | $64,910 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 8,990 | $70,770 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (104)

### Employment series

1. [Wikipedia — History of anthropology (professionalization in the United States: academic departments and federal employment circa 1900-1940)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anthropology), Wikipedia
2. [National Park Service — Archeology Program: National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the expansion of professional archaeology](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/national-historic-preservation-act.htm), National Park Service
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [IPUMS USA — Occupation and Industry historical codes (1970 Census social scientists wage context)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ_ind.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
5. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Anthropologists and Archeologists (historical wage narrative, pre-OEWS era)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/anthropologists-and-archeologists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

8. [Smithsonian Institution Archives — The Origin and Early History of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1879-1910](https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_3367), Smithsonian Institution Archives
9. [HandWiki — History: Bureau of American Ethnology (staff, publications, and research methods)](https://handwiki.org/wiki/History:Bureau_of_American_Ethnology), HandWiki
10. [Wikipedia — Radiocarbon dating (Libby 1949 development and adoption in archaeology)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating), Wikipedia
11. [Wikipedia — History of anthropology (postwar professionalization and methods)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anthropology), Wikipedia
12. [NPS Archeology Program — National Historic Preservation Act of 1966: Section 106 and the creation of the CRM profession](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/national-historic-preservation-act.htm), National Park Service
13. [Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — Introduction to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act](https://www.achp.gov/protecting-historic-properties/section-106-process/introduction-section-106), Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
14. [ScienceDirect — Defining the geospatial revolution in archaeology (Journal of Archaeological Science Reports 2021)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X21002005), Elsevier / Journal of Archaeological Science Reports
15. [Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology — Recent trends and long-standing problems in archaeological remote sensing](https://journal.caa-international.org/articles/10.5334/jcaa.11), Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology
16. [PNAS — Geospatial revolution and remote sensing LiDAR in Mesoamerican archaeology (Evans et al. 2012)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3420181/), PNAS / PMC
17. [Pix4D — Drone photogrammetry for 3D archaeological site documentation; centimeter-accuracy orthomosaics and point clouds from field deployments](https://www.pix4d.com/blog/documenting-large-complex-archaeological-environments-drone-mapping), Pix4D
18. [ATLAS.ti AI Lab — AI-assisted qualitative data analysis with code suggestions, semantic clustering, and document summarization; acquired by Lumivero September 2024](https://atlasti.com/), ATLAS.ti / Lumivero
19. [ArXiv January 2025 — Large language models struggle with ethnographic text annotation: LLMs fall below human performance on reliable annotation features](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.12099), ArXiv
20. [Nature 2022 — Ithaca (Google DeepMind): deep neural network for ancient Greek inscription restoration; boosts expert accuracy 25% to 72%; 62% standalone accuracy; 71% geographic attribution](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04448-z?error=cookies_not_supported&code=7212f3ae-9ccf-46c7-ad8c-a5f9d9dff60e), Nature / Google DeepMind
21. [MDPI Remote Sensing 2025 — AI-driven archaeological object detection in airborne LiDAR derivatives; CNN as leading technique; review of 45 studies](https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/15/2733), MDPI Remote Sensing
22. [Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 2025 — machine learning in archaeological practice: 278 ML-archaeology publications in 23 months (Jan 2023-Sep 2024)](https://journal.caa-international.org/articles/10.5334/jcaa.201), Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology
23. [Vesuvius Challenge — AI competition recovering Herculaneum papyri text; 2024 grand prize $700,000 for TimeSformer recovery of 2,000 characters of Philodemus text](https://scrollprize.org/), Vesuvius Challenge

### Forecasts and exposure studies

24. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 19-3091 Anthropologists and archeologists (2025: 10.2 thousand; 2035: 10.8 thousand; +6.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-3091&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
25. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 19-3091.00, human-rated β 0.517)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

26. [Smithsonian Institution Archives — The Origin and Early History of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1879-1910](https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_3367), Smithsonian Institution Archives
27. [American Anthropological Association — History: founding December 29, 1902; Boas vs. McGee membership debate; AAA as world's largest anthropology professional organization](https://americananthro.org/about/history/), American Anthropological Association
28. [Wikipedia — Radiocarbon dating: Libby 1949 development and rapid adoption in archaeological practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating), Wikipedia
29. [NPS Archeology Program — National Historic Preservation Act of 1966: Section 106, CRM, and the growth of private-sector archaeological employment](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/national-historic-preservation-act.htm), National Park Service
30. [Wikipedia — Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990): scope, requirements, and effects on archaeology and bioanthropology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Graves_Protection_and_Repatriation_Act), Wikipedia
31. [Carroll et al. 2020 — CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance: Data Science Journal](https://datascience.codata.org/articles/dsj-2020-043), Data Science Journal / Research Data Alliance
32. [Nature 2022 — Ithaca (DeepMind): restoring and attributing ancient texts with deep neural networks; 62% standalone accuracy; expert accuracy boosted 25% to 72%](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04448-z?error=cookies_not_supported&code=7212f3ae-9ccf-46c7-ad8c-a5f9d9dff60e), Nature / Google DeepMind
33. [Vesuvius Challenge — 2024 Grand Prize: $700,000 for AI recovery of 2,000 characters from carbonized Herculaneum papyrus (Philodemus, TimeSformer)](https://scrollprize.org/), Vesuvius Challenge

### Predecessors & successors

34. [Wikipedia — History of anthropology: pre-professional era, gentleman scholars and ethnologists in the United States before the Bureau of American Ethnology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anthropology), Wikipedia
35. [Smithsonian Institution Archives — Anthropology at the Smithsonian: from natural history collection to professional research department](https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/henry/anthropology), Smithsonian Institution Archives
36. [HandWiki — History: Bureau of American Ethnology (Powell recruited scientists from the geological survey tradition)](https://handwiki.org/wiki/History:Bureau_of_American_Ethnology), HandWiki
37. [American Anthropological Association — History: founding in 1902 and early membership from adjacent social science disciplines](https://americananthro.org/about/history/), American Anthropological Association
38. [O\*NET 30.3 — Anthropologists and Archeologists (19-3091.00): forensic anthropology as adjacent specialty; BLS OOH on forensic science technicians](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3091.00), O\*NET / BLS
39. [NPS Archeology Program — NHPA Section 106 compliance creating career overlap between archaeologists and historic preservation planners](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/national-historic-preservation-act.htm), National Park Service
40. [BLS OOH — Anthropologists and Archeologists: approximately 40% hold doctoral degrees; academic appointment as the traditional career endpoint](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/anthropologists-and-archeologists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Anthropologists and Archeologists (19-3091.00): tasks, work activities, knowledge domains, technology skills, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3091.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 2024-2034 — Anthropologists and Archeologists: ~8,800 employed; +4% growth; ~800 annual openings; median wage $64,910](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/anthropologists-and-archeologists.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework; anthropologists rated at moderate-to-high β-exposure; framework does not capture fieldwork embeddedness or indigenous data sovereignty obligations](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ArchAI (Dr. Iris Kramer, Royal Academy of Engineering) — deep CNN for archaeological site detection from LiDAR, satellite imagery, and historical maps; \>90% accuracy on hillforts, medieval villages, cairns, roundhouses; Ingenia (RAEng) feature 2024](https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/how-ai-can-unearth-archaeological-sites/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MDPI Remote Sensing 2025 — technical note on AI-driven archaeological object detection in airborne LiDAR derivatives with CNN as leading technique; comprehensive review of 45 studies](https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/15/2733), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ScienceDirect — ADAF (Automatic Detection of Archaeological Features) deep learning tool for airborne laser scanning data; minimal-interaction UI requiring no prior ML knowledge; Journal of Archaeological Science Reports 2026](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X26001689), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Esri ArcGIS Pro — deep learning integration for CNN object detection, semantic segmentation, and feature classification from LiDAR and satellite imagery for archaeological landscape analysis](https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/2.7/help/analysis/image-analyst/deep-learning-in-arcgis-pro.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Pix4D — drone photogrammetry for 3D archaeological site documentation; PIX4Dcloud + PIX4Dcatch used on Geoglyphs of Ica project (pottery, goldsmith work, geoglyphs); centimeter-accuracy orthomosaics and point clouds](https://www.pix4d.com/blog/documenting-large-complex-archaeological-environments-drone-mapping), accessed 2026-05-24
- [DroneDeploy — cloud-based reality capture and AI-assisted photogrammetry for archaeological survey; automated flight planning and map/3D model generation; reduces field-to-deliverable time](https://www.dronedeploy.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Ithaca (Google DeepMind) — deep neural network for ancient Greek inscription restoration and geographic/chronological attribution; published Nature March 2022; 62% standalone accuracy; boosts historian accuracy 25% → 72%; trained on 78,608 inscriptions](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04448-z?error=cookies_not_supported&code=7212f3ae-9ccf-46c7-ad8c-a5f9d9dff60e), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Vesuvius Challenge — AI competition recovering Herculaneum papyri text via X-ray scanning + ML; February 2024 grand prize ($700,000) awarded for recovering 2,000 characters of Philodemus text using TimeSformer; Scientific American 2024](https://scrollprize.org/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Transkribus — AI platform for handwritten text recognition (HTR) and OCR of historical documents; 300+ public models, 100+ languages, 235,000 registered users, 90M+ digital images processed as of October 2024; published in Archival Science systematic review](https://www.transkribus.org/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ATLAS.ti AI Lab — AI-assisted qualitative data analysis with AI code suggestions, semantic clustering, and document summarization; widely used in cultural anthropology and ethnography; acquired by Lumivero September 2024](https://atlasti.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MAXQDA AI Assistant — AI coding suggestions, document summarization, and mixed-methods integration for qualitative research; used in anthropological fieldwork analysis; Skimle QDA comparison 2026](https://www.maxqda.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology — machine learning applications in archaeological practices review (2025 arxiv preprint); 278 unique ML-archaeology records identified Jan 2023-Sep 2024, 12% more than entire 2021-2022 total](https://journal.caa-international.org/articles/10.5334/jcaa.201), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MDPI Technologies — novel ensemble machine learning for bioarchaeological sex prediction; 90-92% accuracy using LDA, random forest, SVM, and ANN on skeletal measurements (2021; confirmed in 2024-2025 follow-up studies)](https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/9/2/23), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Carroll et al. 2020 — CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance: Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics; Data Science Journal; directly governs AI use with indigenous communities in anthropological research](https://datascience.codata.org/articles/dsj-2020-043), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ArXiv January 2025 — "Large language models struggle with ethnographic text annotation": LLMs fall below human performance on reliable annotation features; establishes floor for AI-assisted qualitative coding in anthropology](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.12099), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Elicit — AI literature review tool; finds papers without perfect keyword matching; research matrix generation; Elicit.com; George Mason University Library AI Tools for Literature Reviews guide (accessed 2026-05-24)](https://elicit.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Consensus — AI for research; peer-reviewed consensus mapping; Consensus Meter for agreement levels across published studies; Consensus.app (accessed 2026-05-24)](https://consensus.app/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NotebookLM (Google) — AI-powered research synthesis for uploaded PDF corpora; used for literature triage and multi-document synthesis of fieldwork reports and grey literature](https://notebooklm.google.com/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.