United Kingdom plans to cut financial support for university archaeology courses by half.
Students, the government reasons, should study subjects that lead to jobs, not dead ends.
Archaeologist John Schofield tells us why the discipline is so important.
Archaeology is not only about the past - it uses evidence from the past to anticipate future problems and solutions. For example, historical agricultural techniques from Africa are guiding future farming practices in increasingly dry environments due to climate change.
Archaeology is important to national economy. In fact, a 2019 survey found that heritage tourism contributed 17 billion pounds to the UK economy, much of this driven by or related to archaeology.
Archaeology is fundamentally about people. In today's uncertain times, people should derive comfort knowing about our ancestors' resiliency in the face of odds - archaeologists are central to providing this knowledge. This confidence will help us tackle challenges and shape stabler futures.
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