My Favourite Fictional Archaeologists

This is a list of my favourite fictional archaeologists (and non-archaeologists that are still cool anyways). – the movie and comic stars that so very falsely represented the field, yet nonetheless won over this girl’s heart and somehow kept her motivated throughout countless hours of chemistry and pottery analysis. I tried to make this list gender equal, especially seeing as women are currently dominating the field, but this proved to be extremely difficult. Meaning, we still have a ways to go with dropping the archaeological stereotype.

Political commentary aside, here's my list of my favourite fictional archaeologists!

Indiana Jones

Image via http://www.theraider.net/

The most famous fictional archaeologist of them all! Boys, take note: Nothing is more perfect in my world than watching this on a Friday night and drinking hot chocolate. Indiana Jones is clumsy, he’s not the best at recovering things, as they always seem to get taken away from him, and he’s completely reckless when it comes to handling artefacts (Turning a femur into a torch is probably not the first thing one should do upon discovery). But he loves the game, and his puzzle solving is spectacular. Plus he’s got the perfect gig: a full time teaching job that allows his to just leave at the drop of a hat to go off and discover something new.

Rick O’Connell from the Mummy:

Photo via Dark Universe

The Mummy is probably one of the worst movies ever. It’s super sexist, and don’t even get my started on the facts. When I’m not laughing at the way ancient Egypt was being explained or how quickly Evie was just sight-reading hieroglyphs, I’m shaking my fist furiously at the patriarchy. I know it’s meant to be a typical mummy’s curse movie… but still! I’ll still respect it but it will only be to ogle at Brendan Fraser in his very well-fitting khaki. He’s technically NOT an archaeologist, but he sure turns into one fast. It’s a fun adventurous movie and he’s got the right chops for adventure.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider:

Photo via HeyUGuys

She’s sexy, smart, AND doesn’t need a man to beat up the bad guys. Technically, a tomb raider who likes to shoot lots of guns is that last sort of person one would want at an archaeological discovery. But she’s got money and still has some sort of respect for history and artefacts thanks to her dad, so we might as well exploit that for funding, right?!

Daniel Jackson for Stargate SG 1:

Photo via Jedi vs. Sith

Because Space Archaeology is a thing! Daniel Jackson is probably the worst archaeologist on the list (Gun wielding Lara Croft beats him in my opinion). He is the Archaeologist with a bod so even though he’s horrible at being an actual archaeologist and destroys everything he touches; at least we get to enjoy looking at him while he does. He’s an Egyptologist and he still manages to be awesome and fight bad guys while keeping glasses on his face, which is a feat in its own right, really.

Everyone from the Movie Timeline. Especially Kate Ericson and Andre Marek:

Photo via Out Now-CH

Little fact about me, I love Gerrard Butler. When that man is on screen AND he’s rocking his original accent, there’s no pulling me away. Butler plays Andre Marek, a Scottish archaeologist who loves history to a crazy extent. You can’t help but get excited with him when he’s talking about archaeology. Makes you proud to be one, really.

I also want to take about the character Kate Ericson played by Frances O’Connor. She’s also a real deal archaeologist in the film. AND she gets the attention of Paul Walker. SMART GIRLS ARE SEXY

Sharon Golban from The Body:

Image via IMDB

This woman is bad-ASS. From the first scene, you see her brushing an artefact, photographing it WITH A RULER, and she’s got her tools hung in her belt loops. This is probably one of the truest depictions I’ve seen of an archaeologist… and the process of archaeology in general, really. She smokes, she swears, she protects her site at all costs. THIS is an archaeologist.

Did I miss one? Comment your favourite fictional archaeologist in the comments below!

Have any more questions?

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