The OED writes:
Quote:archaeologist, n.Make of that what you will. If you want a working definition of a professional archaeologist, I would think that it is someone that studies or has studied the past by working with, studying and analysing the rubbish and physical remains left behind by people in the past, or something like that. This would include diggers, supervisors, managers and even archaeological consultants. I'm not sure about curators in some respects. Those that have worked in the field definitely are, but those that have come into curatorial work through Heritage Management degrees and not done any fieldwork or analysis of fieldwork don't seem to fit the title of archaeologist, unless they are studying the archaeology in their spare time. That may be too divisive though and it might be better to think in terms of heritage anyway, rather than just archaeology because it brings more bodies into the fold and thus creates a larger power bloc. Still need more coffee to be less cranky and more coherent, but I hope that helps.
Pronunciation: /ɑːkiːˈɒlədʒɪst/
A professed student of arch?ology.
1824 T. F. Dibdin Libr. Compan. 330 English historical arch?ologists.
1880 W. B. Dawkins Early Man in Brit. i. 2 The arch?ologists have raised the study of antiquities to the rank of a science.
archaeologist, n.
Second edition, 1989; online version March 2011. <http://www.oed.com:80/Entry/10283>; accessed 07 April 2011. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1885.
'Reality,' sa molesworth 2, 'is so unspeakably sordid it make me shudder.'