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+--- Thread: Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara (/showthread.php?tid=1663)
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - tom wilson - 7th July 2009
Quote:quote:Originally posted by renegades
...to charge volunteers is not really asking for volunteers its asking for sponsors and rich ones at that...
In my experience, a very high proportion of the people who volunteer on this kind of projects are yanks, and they can do it because the US tax system allows them to write the cost off as a charitable gift (so it comes off their total tax bill).*
So, while some of them are really filthy stinking rich, most aren't.
*it's probably a bit more complex than that, but that's the gist.
freeburmarangers.org
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - renegades - 7th July 2009
i had a feeling it was a tax thing ,i just wanted to hear it from someone else,fair dos to people who can afford to pay that kind of money but to be able to write it of as charitable ???? seems strange as i have no idea if professional archaeology can be registered as a charity as they are clearly "offering tuition for $$$$ so it is clearly a school eg: a business" which gives me more thoughts that it should be re-packaged as a specialist private school for archaeology loving people who want to learn about archaeology outside of normal schooling settings.
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - tom wilson - 7th July 2009
Renegades,
write to your Senator, assuming you're American. Not American? None of our business then.
That said, if a little money gets diverted from US State coffers into researching the limited and threatened resource that is cultural heritage in places like Western Sahara, I think that's a good thing.
freeburmarangers.org
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - BAJR Host - 7th July 2009
The possibilty to go on field schools and other forms of archaeological projects range from the fre to the costly.. the choice is there for us all. On a recent project, the whole thing was financed by a generous husband and wife - who joined us on the project. THey got the expedition of a lifetime - and we got a project. Fair exchange. Others on the project came with skills.. others offered what they could. It is this mix and interst that worked.
The opportunities exist.. it is of course more expensive to carry out projects in 'wilder' places. And yes.. risk is always there, but thats life!. My time in Yemen was risky, the further I travelled to MArib... but I knew what I was getting into... and would have it no other way. (cost me though!)
Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.
Mohandas Gandhi
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - renegades - 7th July 2009
Below is the defination of volunteeriing
Volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others without being motivated by financial or material gain. Volunteering generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life. People also volunteer to gain skills without requiring an employer's financial investment.
does that not speak for itself ?
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - Oxbeast - 7th July 2009
What bit of your definition is being broken, Gary? This is working on behalf of others without being financially rewarded. In fact you have to pay for it, which is the opposite of being financially rewarded. People are gaining skills without having an employers financial investment.
I've got no idea what your problem is with this, the site is quite honest about what the deal is. I doubt that anyone is making profits from this. Perhaps you think that it is awful and unfair, but research costs money to run.
I have no problems with charging volunteers, I say charge what the market will bear and spend it on post ex. Better them than squeeze the AHRB some more.
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - renegades - 7th July 2009
hello oxbeast
I dont actually have a problem with it im just trying to clear up what the defination of a volunteer is compared to a fee paying person who is being taught,because if they are being given lessons is it not then a field school? and as such is it not more fair to advertise it as that ?? I didnt say anyone was profiting from it and i understand that research cost s lot of money,but when a volunteer become a paying client so there for they are "not volunteers they are fee paying students/clients" who have paid to attend a field school thats all..
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - BAJR Host - 7th July 2009
As the person who puts together Past Horizons I can confirm that there is a distinct difference between paying to go on a field school and volunteering on a project which costs money to participate.
If you attend a field school you will expect to be taught to a certain level where you will obtain educational credits at the end of it. It has to be said though that the quality of teaching will vary greatly so it is best to check exactly what you will be getting. There are not many academics who will be able to teach the ways of commercial archaeology for example.
If you pay to volunteer you can usually expect to be taught the basics but often no more than that. An American relative of mine has volunteered on a few Earthwatch digs and he is quite happy to pay for something he sees as a good cause and the great experience that it brings him but he is not expecting to obtain university credits.
I don't think that anyone is pretending that by paying to volunteer you are going to learn vast amounts about archaeology but then again that depends on you as a person, the project you go on and what you want out of it. It might in fact be the best investment you ever made.
Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.
Mohandas Gandhi
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - Maggie - 7th July 2009
Sorry, BAJR host didn't actually say any of the above words it was actually me, but strangely he was logged into my computer... :face-huh:
Adventures in Archaeology - Western Sahara - renegades - 8th July 2009
aha ok david so it means in effect as a volunteer who is paying he /she is taught to do the archaeolgical side of things to a certain level but at the end of say 4 weeks the volunteer doesnt get anything to say he attended a particular dig eg any sort of credits paperwork of quality of the work he she did or how good his/her work was ...but if it was a student studying archaeology they would recieve credits as part of their on-going education ? i didnt know there was a difference between field archaeology and commercial archaeology!! would i be right in assuming that commercial archaeology is for people planning to build something like a huge hypermarket and as part of the archaeological saftey net so to speak a commercial archaeologist would be called into see if there is anything that would need investigated before building goes ahead or before any building get brought down ??that sort of thing
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855