Overview
Drones are an essential tool in today’s archaeological practice, both in academic research and professional archaeology (e.g., Cultural Resource Management or CRM, heritage studies or site damage mitigation). Drones save time and money on archaeological surveys, and they also provide excellent high-resolution spatial information for site detection, monitoring and regional landscape studies. Flying a drone is simple when you know how to do it. In fact, you can learn how to do that in just a few hours. The challenging part is mastering flight maneuvers for managing archaeological surveys, site and environmental monitoring and how to handle emergencies in the air.
In this one-week bootcamp-style program, you will gain hands-on experience, learn about drone safety and practice advanced flight maneuvers. You will also learn how to collect accurate and relevant data for a variety of practical applications in archaeology, from photogrammetric modeling of archaeological sites to damage mitigation recording. You will also gain clear understanding of the advantages and limitations of different types of drones and sensors and when they are most applicable.
Upon completion, you have the training to successfully complete FAA Part 107 certification exam. You will also have the tools to conduct safe and responsible sUAV fieldwork as a researcher or Cultural Resource Management professional. While this program is designed for archaeologists, professionals conducting paleontological, geological and other landscape surveys may benefit from participating.
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Training students for drone takeoff
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Preparing a blue drone for flight
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Looking at GPR data generated by a drone sensor
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Setting up of a blue drone
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Preparing to fly a blue drone
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Setting up drone for GPR survey
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Drone landing and takeoff zone
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Demosntrating drone flight
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A close view of a flying drone
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Flying drone in patterns
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Monitoring data and flying a drone
Instructor(s)
All field school directors are experts in their field and passionate about their work. To discuss the suitability of this program for your career goals – whether within or outside academia – you are invited to contact the directors directly. For a broader discussion which ARC program to choose, you are welcome to contact our staff directly – you can do that through our “Contact Us” page.
Testimonials & Program evaluation
Student Fees (Tuition)
What is Covered
- DEPOSIT IS PART OF TOTAL TUITION COST
- Costs of Instruction
- Cost of Academic Credit Units
- Cost of Drones & Computer Time
- Liability & Accident Insurance
- Cost of Room & Board
Read Before You Pay
- Application: You must apply online for this program – application is free
- Deposit: A $300 nonrefundable deposit (part of the total tuition cost) is required to secure a space in the program
- Credit Card Fee: Payments with credits cards incur 3% processing fee
- Late Fee: A $100 Late Fee will be added to the program costs if tuition is not paid in full by payment deadline
- Cancellation Policy: Carefully read our Cancellation Policy before committing to attending our programs
- Trip Cancellation Insurance: Trip cancellation insurance is not provided by ARC. Such policies have changed due to Covid 19. If you wish to purchase an insurance policy that covers pandemic contingencies, explore Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) plans. Insuremytrip or Travel Guard are possible websites where you may explore different insurance policies.
Accommodations
Students and staff will stay at the historic Hat Ranch at Williams AZ. The ranch is owned and operated by Northern Arizona University. Rooms are double or single occupancy, depending on availability and course enrollment. Check out is officially Saturday morning.
Diet
This program provides three family-style meals. Vegetarian diets may be accommodated. No other diets (Kosher, Hallal, etc.) can be accommodated at this location.
Travel Information
We suggest you hold off purchasing your airline ticket until six (6) weeks before the program begins. Natural disasters, political changes, weather conditions & a range of other factors may require the cancellation of a field school. ARC typically makes a final Go/No Go decision six weeks before program begins. To protect students from potential financial loss, we urge you to purchase airline tickets only six weeks prior to a program beginning.
There will be two meeting points for this program:
- If you fly to Flagstaff, we will meet you at the baggage are on the first day of the program (Sun) at 4:00pm
- If you drive to the field school, make your way to the Hat Ranch at Williams AZ at the first day of the program and arrive by (Sun) at 5:30pm.
Visa Information
This is a domestic program, and no visa is needed for U.S. Citizens.
Non-US Citizens are asked to check the United States embassy website at their home country for specific visa requirements.
Meeting Point
| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sun (1st day of field school) | 4:00pm | Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, baggage claims area |
| Sun (1st day of field school) | 5:30pm | Hat Ranch |
If you missed your connection or your flight is delayed, please call, text or email project director(s) immediately. A local emergency cell phone number will be provided to all enrolled students.
Safety
Our primary mission is student education. Traveling and conducting field work involves risk and students interested in participating in any field schools must weigh whether the potential risk is worth the value of education earned. While risk is inherent in everything we do, we do not take risk lightly. We engage in intensive review of each field school location prior to approval and continue to monitor conditions on the ground to ensure a safe and wholesome education experience.
Students attending our international programs are covered by a comprehensive Health Insurance Policy that covers physical illness or injury, mental or chronic conditions and medical evacuation – if needed. This insurance policy has no deductibles and 100% of the costs are covered up to $250,000 (for more, see here). In addition, we provide Political & Natural Disaster Evacuation policy, which allows us to remove students from program location if conditions change.
Students attending our domestic programs (within the US) must have their own health insurance. Program directors are familiar with local authorities and if in need of evacuation, local emergency services and/or law enforcement will be notified and activated.
We have an explicit and robust Harassment & Discrimination Policy, outlined on our Health & Safety page. If students feel they cannot discuss personal safety issues with program staff, they are welcome to call the ARC emergency hotline and talk directly with an ARC staff member.
Call (+1 323 740-1805) or email (admin@anthroctr.org) if you have questions about the safety of any program.