Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,518
edits
Adventurer Archaeologist: Difference between revisions
m
removed Category:The Great Depression using HotCat
m (update links) |
m (removed Category:The Great Depression using HotCat) |
||
| (27 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"You would use a bulldozer to find a china cup."''|'''Rene Belloq'''
In [[Real Life]],
▲{{quote|''"You would use a bulldozer to find a china cup."''|'''Rene Belloq''', ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''}}
Not so in fiction-land. Since most of the world has [[End of an Age|the ruins of ancient and powerful civilizations]] littered under the surface,
▲In [[Real Life]], archeology is ''not'' the most fast paced of careers. It can involve a lot of research, dirt, and going over small details like diet and theorizing on them. A real archaeologist can make his career by the meticulous analysis of the contents of a garbage dump and indeed, they (well, a few) would ''prefer'' to find the dump rather than a king's tomb, since the dump can tell them far more about the way ordinary people lived, with far fewer legal and ethical ramifications. Additionally, a dump will have items of low or underestimated value, reducing the allure for tomb robbers who might have broken into tombs and ruined the information.
In fiction, it then becomes perfectly reasonable to use any means to acquire said [[MacGuffin
▲Not so in fiction-land. Since most of the world has [[End of an Age|the ruins of ancient and powerful civilizations]] littered under the surface, archeology is a career that brings one constantly face to face with [[Lost Technology]], [[Sealed Evil in a Can|imprisoned evils]], and [[MacGuffin|MacGuffins]]. Lots of [[MacGuffin|MacGuffins]]. If it takes place on Earth and the writers don't make one up, it'll usually be something like an Egyptian tomb (expect a [[Mummy]] to haunt our hero) or the [[Public Domain Artifact|Holy Grail]].
▲In fiction, it then becomes perfectly reasonable to use any means to acquire said [[MacGuffin|MacGuffins]], no matter how destructive. Who cares if you have to destroy ancient machinery that could well be thousands of years old and still works? There's a gold monkey at the end! ''And'' you get to wear a dashing [[Adventurer Outfit]]!
An
▲[[Adventurer Archaeologist|Adventurer Archaeologists]] are capable of dressing up very well for more intellectual appearances, but forays into studying usually occur off-screen, and it's never implied to take very long. (Compare [[Badass Bookworm]].)
Most people call this "theft," and in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]],'' it's noted that the title character has been called a [[Grave Robbing|"grave robber"]] (although real archaeologists were once considered that). However, to an
▲An [[Adventurer Archaeologist]] has an interesting morality. Ruins are rarely really "abandoned" as the descendants of the [[Precursors]], or their ghosts, or even their mystically preserved selves are [[Chased by Angry Natives|very upset]] when outsiders intrude, and especially when they take the focal points of their culture with them.
This trope is [[Older Than Radio]], an accomplishment when considering that
▲Most people call this "theft," and in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]],'' it's noted that the title character has been called a [[Grave Robbing|"grave robber"]] (although real archaeologists were once considered that). However, to an [[Adventurer Archaeologist]], it's okay as long as it [[It Belongs in a Museum|goes into a museum]]. To keep the audience rooting for the [[Adventurer Archaeologist]], he or she is often pitted against an [[Evil Counterpart]] who wants the same treasure for themselves to hoard in a private collection, or to give it to the bad guys/sell to the highest bidder, use it to [[Take Over the World]], etc.
It should be noted, however, that this Trope and its origins do come from [[Truth in Television|Truth in... err
▲This trope is [[Older Than Radio]], an accomplishment when considering that archeology is a profession less than two centuries old. Antiquarians, historians, and intellectual grave robbers were a staple of 19th Century gothic horror and ghost stories. They appeared regularly in pulp adventure novels and film adventures dating back to the dawn of talking pictures, including [[The Mummy (film)|the Universal mummy movies]] and the Johnny Weismuller [[Tarzan]] films. A certain [[George Lucas]] and [[Steven Spielberg]] series made it big again in [[The Eighties]].
Often the main character in a [[Jungle Opera]].▼
▲It should be noted, however, that this Trope and its origins do come from [[Truth in Television|Truth in err.... Literature]]. Early archaeologists tended to be more concerned about their own glory and getting museum trinkets that looked good than actually discovering information about ancient cultures, or preserving knowledge for future research -- let alone respecting or collaborating with the modern descendants of the people whose tombs and temples they excavated. Their methods were often horrible by modern scientific standards, as the examples below show, and they usually discarded artifacts that weren't glamorous or shiny, including some types that are considered quite scientifically valuable today. As a result, no one knows how much historical evidence will never be known to us through the carelessness of 19th and early 20th century archaeologists.
▲Often the main character in a [[Jungle Opera]].
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Seta from ''[[Love Hina]]''; he takes on Keitaro as an assistant for a summer job.
* Midori Sugiura's university professor and Most Important Person in ''[[
* Prior to the start of ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'' this was {{spoiler|clone}} Syaoran's profession, giving him the seeds of skills needed for his task. (Being trained on the side by an [[The Hunter|obsessed Vampire Hunter]] helps too).
* Yuuno Scrya from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. [[Improbable Age|At age 10]]. With [[Parental Abandonment|no parental supervision]]. On top of this, he's a high-class mage. He's more self-effacing than the usual example of this trope, and has some trouble with self-esteem and romance. However, though he fulfills this archetype before and sort-of during the first season, in the second season, he's introduced to the magically huge and horrendously disorganized Infinity Library. It holds just about any answer you might need...
* Bakura Ryou's father is an archaeologist in the anime and the owner of the Domino museum in the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' manga. Supposedly he bought the Millennium Ring on the streets of Cairo. Also, Solomon
* Hunter Steele from ''[[Spider Riders]]'' may be one. Before he found the way to the Inner World, he had several archaeological tools with him. Also his grandfather may have been one because he found it first. Actually {{spoiler|Mantid was first, arriving sometime during the 19th century, which means he may have also been an archaeologist.}}
* Nico Robin of ''[[One Piece]]'' is an [[Heel Face Turn|ex-]][[The Dragon|Dragon]] [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|archaeologist assassin pirate]].
** Robin's mother, Nico Olvia, and a group of her fellow scholars set out on the seas of the ''[[One Piece]]'' world to locate clues to a blank spot in history known as the Void Century.
* ''[[Explorer Woman Ray]]'', title character of the anime of the same name. A late 1980s attempt by the anime industry to cash in on the popularity of [[Indiana Jones]] and the [[Girls with Guns]] genre (EWR's theme music even sounds eerily similar to John William's Indiana Jones theme).
* Ruby Crecent from ''[[666 Satan]]'' (AKA ''O-Parts Hunter'') is a young archeologist who meets the main character when looking for her father.
* Two of ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'''s Alfred/America's hobbies are adventuring and archeology.
* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', the members of [[Academy of Adventure|Mahora's]] Library Club are all Adventure Archaeologists in training. Said [[The Library of Babel|library]] is filled with booby traps, cliffs, waterfall, and magical items. Students are actually banned from going to the lower levels because of the danger.
* ''[[Master Keaton
* Some Hunters in ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'' "hunt" ancient ruins and artifacts instead of animals or people. Gon's father Ging earned recognition for his work in uncovering incredible archaeological finds.
▲== Comic Books ==
* The Thief from Dan Hipp's ''[http://www.thethiefisdead.blogspot.com Gyakushu]'' is a great example of the trope.
* The Diggers sisters in Fred Perry's ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]''.
* This was the [[Secret Identity]] of the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Hawkman]], who has returned as the current{{when}} Hawkman.
* Archaeology is second only to research scientist on the list of "most origin-prone professions".
** [[The DCU]]'s [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Blue Beetle]] Dan Garrett found the scarab that gave him his powers while looking through an ancient tomb.
*** This actually represents a backdating of the Silver Age version to the Golden Age. The actual Golden Age Blue Beetle stories from Fox had him as a policeman.
** Rex Mason, who was transformed into [[Metamorpho]] by an artifact in an Egyptian tomb.
** The original [[Doctor Fate]]'s father. Lot of superpowers in them tombs...
Line 56 ⟶ 54:
** Another Disney comic example would be [[Disney Ducks Comic Universe|Scrooge McDuck]] himself, sometimes.
* [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] has Cain Marko, before he found the magic gem that turned him into [[The Juggernaut]].
* Charles and Marilyn Batson, parents of [[Shazam|Billy "Captain Marvel" Batson]], before being killed by their associate Theo "Black Adam" Adam.
* Boom! Studio's ''[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=3237&disp=table Hunter's Fortune]'' is proudly a poor man's Indiana Jones.
* Armando Catalano, the central character of ''[[Le Scorpion]]'', is an adventurer ''tomb robber'' as the comic is set in the 18th century and the science of archaeology doesn't exist yet.
* Savant from ''[[Wild CATS]]'' is an immortal alien
* Oklahoma Smith from the ''[[Cherry Comics]]'' parody "Oklahoma Smith and the Lost Temple of Doomed Raiders".
*
▲== Film ==
** This is probably why [
▲* If [[Indiana Jones]] re-popularized it in recent years, given the movies are [[George Lucas Throwback|George Lucas Throwbacks]].
▲** This is probably why [http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/10/10bryan.html he was denied tenure].
** Although what we see is only a very small portion of what he actually does and certain supplemental materials make it clear that he does spend a lot of time teaching, as well as identifying and cataloging artifacts for museums as well as the college he works for.
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] heavily in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade|The Last Crusade]]'' where Indy is briefly seen lecturing a class that archeology is concerned with facts and research, and he specifically tells the students it is not about finding lost cities, buried treasure or following maps to a big "X". He then promptly ditches the class to go on an action-packed adventure that involves everything he just spent class period dismissing. [[Those Wacky Nazis|Also Nazis.]]
** What little we see of his students in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]'' ''does'' indicate that they are rather desensitized to his adventuring habit, to the extent that they see him sliding under their table in the library ''on a motorcycle'' as an opportunity to ask a question about the homework and [[Casual Danger Dialog|not something unusual in the slightest.]]
* The O'Connell Family from ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy]]'' movies and cartoon act like this, even though none of them are officially archeologists (Rick O'Connell is a military defector looking for treasure, and Evy is trained as a librarian rather than an archeologist).
Line 74 ⟶ 71:
* Benjamin Gates (played by Nicholas Cage) from Disney's ''[[National Treasure]]'' franchise is a historian and amateur cryptologist who does all that work to be prepared to find the treasure and he only keeps looking for it so as to protect it.
* Most of the main characters in the original ''[[The Adventures of Captain Marvel]]'' movie serial from 1941. Interestingly, the main exception to this is Billy Batson himself, who is chosen by the wizard Shazam to become Captain Marvel because he's the only person on the expedition except the native guide Tal Chotali who suggests maybe smashing one's way through tombs and grabbing whatever is in there isn't such a good idea. Later, Batson is entrusted with the scroll which explains how the serial's [[MacGuffin]], the Scorpion, works because he "is probably the only one among us who can't translate it."
* Leslie Howard's ''[[Pimpernel Smith]]'', a 1941 take on ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (film)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'', is not only an
* Darius Biederbeck, played by Robert Quarry, in ''[[The Abominable Dr. Phibes|Dr Phibes Rises Again]]''.
* ''[[Two Brothers]]'' has a something of a subversion of the trope. McRory dynamites apart old temple ruins to sell statues to the highest bidder.
▲== Literature ==
* Professor [[Bernice Summerfield]], in the [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]].
* Professor Michael Murphy, in the ''[[Babylon Rising]]'' series.
Line 85 ⟶ 81:
* [[Amelia Peabody]] and her husband, Radcliffe Emerson, Victorian Egyptologists in a series of mysteries by Elizabeth Peters. These two go out of their way to subvert several aspects of the trope: they regard their adventures as interruptions, most of the time, and are always itching to get back to The Dig; and they are stridently clear about Egyptian artifacts belonging to the Egyptians, not, for instance, the British Museum, and make frequent derogatory remarks about the treasure-hunting approach of their predecessors and some of their contemporaries.
* An anthropologist and zoologist rather than an archaeologist, but Professor George Edward Challenger from ''[[The Lost World (novel)|The Lost World]]'' and its sequels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle otherwise fits the bill to a T.
* In a rare science-fictional example, Lucinda Carlyle from [[Ken MacLeod]]'s ''Newton's Wake'' is a self-described "combat archaeologist." This involves mostly jumping through wormholes and gunning down post-singularity alien robots.
* Averted with professional archaeologist Jacob Ramsey in Christie Golden's [[
* Miss Alice Band, a "stealth archeologist" who also teaches traps and climbing at the Guild of Assassins, in ''[[Discworld]]''. Any similarity to Lara Croft is entirely coincidental.
** Adora Belle Dearheart also qualifies as this in ''[[Literature/Making Money|Making Money]]''. She travels about the Disc, looking for a digging up old golems.
* ''[[Hand of Mercy]]'' features Helen Hawthorn. Technically Helen is an antiques dealer, but that doesn't stop her rifling through ancient artifacts, not to mention theft and trespass at Isham house.
* [[Doc Savage]]
* Surprisingly, this trope is [[Older Than Feudalism]]: A piece of Egyptian literature from the 1st century CE, ''Setna-Khaemwase and Na-Nefer-Ka-Ptah'' tells the story of the titular protagonist, Setna, a prince of Egypt and a powerful wizard, searching necropoleis for the magical Book of Thoth which grants the reader great power. It does not end very well for him.
* ''The Takers'' by Jerry Ahern, though it's actually the [[Big Bad]] who's the archaeologist. The protagonists are an action-adventure novelist, and his girlfriend who writes books on UFOs, Atlantis and the occult.
* ''[[The Lords of Creation|In the Courts of the Crimson Kings]]'', a sci-fi novel by S.M. Stirling set on [[John Carter of Mars]]-type world made plausible with [[
* Aemelia Harsh in [[Stephen Hunt]]'s ''The Kingdom Beyond the Waves''.
* Dr. Roger Burrows of the ''[[Tunnels]]'' series thinks about himself this way. In reality, while he is an archaeologist and he does go on a perilous adventure, he is too much of a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] to really fit the mold.
* Dr. Nina Wilde in Andy McDermott's ''The Hunt For Atlantis'' and subsequent sequels; she specializes in mythological legends such as Atlantis and Excalibur. [[In the Blood|Her parents were also archaeologists]] and were murdered on an expedition to the Himalayas to find evidence of Atlantis.
* In the [[Star Trek Deep Space Nine
* In the [[Star Trek: Mirror Universe]], the novel ''Worst of Both Worlds'' has Jean Luc Picard of the Mirror Universe as a Treasure Hunter while also being a slave for Gul Madred. He eventually runs away and uses the treasures and wonders he's found to destroy the Borg Cube that invades the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.
* In the ''[[Virals]]'' series by Kathy Reichs, Tory Brennan and her fellow virals are this when trying to find a female pirate's treasure.
* Alex Benedict, the titular antiquities dealer of the ''[[Alex Benedict]]'' series, is one.
==
* In the show ''[[Relic Hunter]]'', Sydney Fox (played by Tia Carerre).
* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', Daniel Jackson is a "purer" example in flashbacks, but modifies the way he works once he joins the SG team.
* In a few ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' stories, Captain Picard gets to air out his
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Vash Vash] in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. Love interest of Jean-Luc Picard, partner of Q.
* ''[[The Librarian]]: Quest for the Spear'' and ''The Librarian 2: Return to King Solomon's Mines'' (both starring Noah Wyle) are [[Deconstructor Fleet|knowing and ironic retreads]] of this territory, or maybe simply ''bad'' retreads.
* In ''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]'', the mentor of the team/father of the Red Ranger is one of these. Consequently, the Rangers themselves spend the bulk of the season generally following in his footsteps. This unique combination of [[Big Damn Heroes]] and
** And, well, sometimes ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]'' delve into this territory too.
* ''[[Bonekickers]]''
* Professor George Edward Challenger from ''[[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World|Sir Arthur Conan Doyles the Lost World]]''.
* Charlotte from ''[[Lost]]'' may fit. She's been identified as an anthropologist rather than an archaeologist, but in her first scene, she was butting in on a dig to {{spoiler|unearth a Dharma polar bear in Tunisia}} and the show runners even addressed the archaeologist/anthropologist/Indiana Jones issue in a podcast. She also appears to be something of an [[Action Girl]].
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'': Professor River Song in ''Silence in the Library''.
{{quote|
** He quickly learns not to underestimate her, because when you have a time travelling archeologist, you get awesome. In fact, {{spoiler|''they're married''!}}
{{quote|
'''River''': Archeology. {{[[[Offhand Backhand]] Shoots alien behind her}}] Love a tomb. }}
* Though an anthropologist rather than an archaeologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan of ''[[Bones]]'' appears to harbor the occasional delusion of Lara Croft-hood. The series has established that she's an accomplished martial artist, markswoman and survival expert:
{{quote|
'''Booth:''' You ''hunt?''
'''Brennan:''' Only for food.
'''Caroline:''' Shot an unarmed man...
'''Brennan:''' He was trying to light me on fire! }}
** The pilot episode hangs a few more lampshades on this, as the first five minutes show her returning from some South American jungle with a carry-on full of skulls, for which she neglected to obtain the proper importation permits, and then {{spoiler|executing vigilante justice on Cleo Eller's murderer when it looks like the man will escape prosecution}}.
*** To be fair, as she said in the above quote, he ''was'' trying to light her on fire.
* In the ''[[CSI New York|CSI:NY]]'' episode "The Cost of Living", one of these breaks into a disused part of the [[New York Subway]] and retrieves an item, in a large-scale homage to ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' that probably left many viewers wondering what they were watching... Then the team find his corpse:
{{quote|
'''Mac:''' [[Quip to Black|Until someone made this his last crusade]]. }}
*** Late in the episode it is revealed that {{spoiler|the adventurer archaeologist was a fraud. Having purchased the identity of a legitimate archaeologist, the man proceeded to live the fantasy of an adventurer archaeologist. He ended up being more successful than the person whose identity he was using}}.
* On ''[[Friends]]'' a department store saleswoman flirts with Ross, using the absurd equation "paleontologist+works out=Indiana Jones." Talk about laying it on with a trowel. Ross is pleased, however.
* ''[[Young Indiana Jones]]'' has, strangely, an aversion. The show was created to be educational. The DVD sets include educational documentaries about people and events in the show... and the first one has a [[Hypocrisy Nod|documentary about what real-life archeology is like]].
* In ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]'', Blair Sandburg is an anthropologist but has serious
* Examples of this trope IN SPACE are apparently common in the Verse of ''[[Babylon 5]]'', among them Sheridan's wife, who disappeared on an archeological expedition.
* On ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'', Dick and Mary got invited on an archaeological dig. Dick showed up dressed like Indiana Jones and waving around a bullwhip. It turns out he's [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70EsCj7ho1o&t=3m41s the dig is actually realistic].
* ''[[The Onion]]'': Parodied in [http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38680 this article].▼
* In the other direction: [http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/10/10bryan.html Indiana Jones Denied Tenure].▼
▲== Tabletop Games ==
* The one, the only, Beckett of Clan Gangrel in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]''. [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1677764/20/Gehenna_The_Musical Hot like Croft and cool like Jones], baby.
** ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' also has "archeomancers", a faction of the Mysterium (collectors of magical lore) who search old ruins for artefacts.
** ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'' has two such groups: the Loyalists of Thule, who track down arcane secrets to defend humanity from occult dangers and [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|make up for that whole Hitler thing]], and the Aegis Kai Doru, who collect magical artifacts and use them in their fight against threats to humanity.
* It is also possible to pull off an Adventurer Archaeologist character in the ''[[Eberron]]'' setting for [[Dungeons
* ''[[
* ''[[Feng Shui]]'''s ''Seal of the Wheel'' supplement has the Two-Fisted Archeologist, which is a direct homage to Indiana Jones, with a unique schtick that allows them to defy death, showing up ten sequences later all banged up and with a crazy story to tell about how they survived. Most of them work for the Ascended, but some of them go independent or join the Dragons. There's also several fan archetypes lurking about the net.
* One of the character classes in ''[[Rifts]]'', Rogue Scholar is this, the picture of the character template even looks like Indy.
* The ''Back East'' supplement for ''[[Deadlands]]'' included an Archaelogist archetype suitable for use as a player character that was very heavily based on Indiana Jones.
▲== Video Games ==
* The "[[Indiana Jones|Jones]]" class in ''[[Dungeon of Doom]]''.
* Lara Croft from the ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' games and movies.
Line 165 ⟶ 154:
** One of the uncharted worlds mentions the planet is occupied by a volus billionare who is obsessed with searching the planet's abandoned crypts for "lost beings of light" who hid away weapons to fight a "darkness from beyond the stars." It's implied the volus is insane (although Shepard and his crew would likely disagree), but he has his own army of mercenaries digging up the planet.
** Shepard can play Adventurer Archaeologist in both games, recovering ancient asari writings, turian clan insignia, Prothean artifacts and data disks from sites spanning the galaxy. You can even keep a Prothean relic in your cabin as an art piece.
* Lorelei, Zweig, and Killey in the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series are all
* Ernest from ''[[Star Ocean the Second Story]]'' was pretty much Indiana Jones with three eyes.
* The player character in ''[[Spelunky]]'', an Indiana Jones lookalike.
Line 174 ⟶ 163:
*** Although the tedium and long work involved does show fairly effectively(in MMO terms). It can take a round-continent trip of an hour to complete a single project, which is often something you had found previously.
* Dr. Edwin Linsey in the sixth chapter of ''[[Eternal Darkness]]''.
* The titular Henry Hatsworth, from ''[[Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure]]''.
* Arguably the eponymous Professor Layton, from ''[[Professor Layton]]''. He is indeed an archaeologist, and he does have adventures, but these are more by accident than by design.
** ''The Diabolocal Box'' reveals that he's also a skilled fencer; and ''The Unwound Future'' shows that he's a better marksman than a [[The Mafia|squad of goons]], using a [[MacGyvering|hastily built weapon]] no less, [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy|though that might not be saying much]].
** And, apparently, he's also a decent Prosecuting Attorney. At least if the trailers for ''[[Professor Layton VS Ace Attorney]]'' are to be believed.
* The [[Mooks]] in the Flash game [[Guardian Rock]] also qualify, though they have antagonizing roles.
* ''[[Endless Frontier]]'' begins with the hero and his [[Robot Girl]] sidekick getting permission to explore a crashed spaceship... that they were recovered from when he was a baby.
* Subverted in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics
* Locke from [[Final Fantasy VI]] represents the thief class in the game and has the "steal" command. But call him a treasure hunter or he'll rip your lungs out!!!
* The Guild of Archeologists in ''[[Discworld Noir]]'' is a lot like this. It may be notable that their spokesperson is a young woman named "Loreda Cronk".
* Waffle's uncle in ''[[Tail Concerto]]''.
* Goombella in ''[[Paper Mario:
* The protagonist of ''[[Pharaohs Tomb]]'' and sequel ''[[Arctic Adventure]]'', one Nevada Smith.
* In ''[[Fable II]]'' there is a series of artifact fetch quests you can perform for archaeologist Belle Rennock - likely a reference to Rene Belloq from ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''.
Line 190 ⟶ 179:
* As of the "World Adventures" expansion pack for ''[[The Sims|The Sims 3]]'', you can be one.
* In ''[[Tutankham]]'', the player character is obviously one of these.
* [[Nethack]] has an Archaeologist class that starts with a whip and fedora.
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'':
** Zigzagged with your character is this if they have the archaeology profession. The ''Warlords of Draenor'' storyline involves the player keeping what they find for the Garrison's private museum, but subsequent storylines show them doing so for their faction's benefit.
** Harrison Jones, Belloc Brightblade (Expys of [[Indiana Jones]] and René Belloq, respectively), Brann Bronzebeard, and the Reliquary and Explorer's League factions. Not true for Belloc's daughter, however, who sees the motivations of such people as little more than greed.
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', Riff's father appears to be one of these, as well as the [[Lara Croft]] parody ''Lara Craft Macaroni & Cheese''.
* Montana Jones from ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'', an [[Affectionate Parody]] of [[Indiana Jones]], and, to a lesser extent, his father, Professor North Dakota Jones (an [[Affectionate Parody]] of [[Sean Connery|Indy's father]] and his grandfather, Schliemannian Chair of Archaeology Minnesota Jones. Also Ginny Smith {{spoiler|although she's also a [[Femme Fatale]] in a constant [[Heel Face Revolving Door]]}}
* From ''[[Wapsi Square]]'', Monica's grandfather was one of these. Monica herself, on the other hand would claim to be an archaeologist of the far more mundane variety. She spends most of her time either in a library, or analyzing things for the museum, and she doesn't do field work. However, that being said, she still did manage to help bring down a smuggling ring in the process of acquiring an artifact.
** [http://wapsisquare.com/comic/comfortnotspeed/ Lampshaded here]
* ''[[Homestuck]]'': [[Genki Girl|Aradia Megido]] was one before she died. [[Stringy
** Jade's Grandpa {{spoiler|and his Alpha counterpart, Jake}} is also one.
* In ''[[Underling]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120622113343/http://underlingcomic.com/page-one-hundred-fifty-five/ Caleb claims to be one.]
== [[Web Original]] ==
▲== Web Original ==
* [[Equestrian Legends]] has Icefox, a blatant Indiana Jones expy.
▲* ''[[The Onion]]'': Parodied in [https://web.archive.org/web/20100224005002/http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38680 this article].
▲* In the other direction: [
▲== Western Animation ==
* The fictional version of Jackie Chan from ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]''.
** This trope is parodied, however, when he comes to his niece's career day and gives an accurate explanation of what archeology is like in real life. He'd rather do the proper archeology, but rarely has time before the bad guys show up to try to grab the artifact.
* On ''[[Kim Possible]]'', this is the career of Lord Monty Fiske, until he reveals himself as Lord Monkey Fist (in his first appearance).
* In an episode of ''[[Ben 10]]'', Grandpa Max stepped into this role, with Ben and Gwen along for the ride, to keep an ancient superweapon from falling into the hands of the Forever Knights. All three are pretty glad when it's over.
* ''[[Tale Spin]]'' features three different
** Also, possibly Scrooge McDuck from ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]''.
* Dr. Crockery from the ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' episode "Throw Mummy from the Train".
* In ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'', [[Red Tornado]], in his secret identity as an archaeology professor, tells his students that archaeology is not about adventuring but rather long hours of boring research. [[Hypocritical Humor|Then he saves Christmas alongside Batman.]] Of course, the adventure itself had nothing to do with archaeology...
Line 220 ⟶ 211:
* I.J. Domiwick from ''[[Storm Hawks]]'' is a villainous example.
▲== Real Life ==
* [[wikipedia:Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin#Elgin Marbles|Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin]] spent much of his ambassadorship to the Ottoman Empire during the Greek War of Independence at the Parthenon, recently exploded after the Turks used it as an ammo dump. Elgin collected and removed various friezes and sculptures and sent them back to Britain, where the 'Elgin Marbles' still reside. Whether Elgin was a savior of the priceless sculptures or, as Lord Byron phrased it, "a dishonest and rapacious vandal" is still an open question.
** The Greeks tend to think the last and still want to get the Marbles back. The Acropolis museum even has holes in which the Marbels should go with something written about how the Marbles are, unfortunately, still in the British museum.
Line 230 ⟶ 220:
** The continued citation of Andrews as the inspiration for Indiana Jones is controversial. There weren't any direct references to Andrews in the initial plans for the movie, and it's at least as likely that Indiana's character was based off of popular 30s and 40s pulp fiction heroes (though some of them actually were inspired by Andrews).
* A real danger is finding the lost city of somebody's drug operations in contractual archeology; being an archeologist can get more guns pointed at you then the normal person.
* Many college professors who focus on the Middle East occasionally get into slightly more perilous situations than the average archaeologist.
* Heinrich Schliemann may be the ur-example of this; in thieving, digging, and bombing his way to and through the ruins of Troy and Mycenae, Schliemann essentially invented modern archaeology by negation when observers compiled a list of his activities that archaeologists ''should never repeat''.
** Rule 1: Go easy on the TNT.
** He ended up destroying the very ruins of Troy he was trying to find - and ended up finding some even older ones under them.
* Frederick Albert "Mike" Mitchell-Hedges could be considered this later on in his life (having started as a upper-class delinquent who made several nice discoveries).
* Sylvanus Morley was, by all accounts, an excellent archeologist whose excavations of Mayan ruins in Mexico were highly influential. They also made a good cover for his spying for the American government during [[World War
* Zahi Hawass, currently one of the most famous archaeologists in Egypt, is well aware of this trope and plays it up. (That [[Nice Hat|brown fedora]] is [[Indiana Jones|not a coincidence]].) This has made him very popular with TV crews, incidentally helping popularize Egyptology itself and get it proper funding, but because his methods can be a bit sloppy he's alternately loved and hated by "proper" archaeologists.
* [[wikipedia:Giovanni Belzoni|Giovanni Belzoni]] led quite the interesting life, working as a circus strongman before he moved on to finding lost temples in the Egyptian desert.
** Belzoni is another guy cited as a possible inspiration for [[Indiana Jones]], particularly the part about an unscrupulous French<ref>Well, an Italian in French employ</ref> rival working for an expansionist empire led by an infamous dictator (in this case, Napoleon). The main difference being said rival was less an archaologist and more of a greedy, unethical businessman as well as the corrupt French consul for Egypt. He's the most deplorable example of "bad archeaology" on this page as he actually would intentionally destroy some of the stuff his men found to drive up the value of what was left over.
* Pretty much any archeologist who does field work in the really unstable parts of the world fits this trope. Of particular note would be the guys who work in Afghanistan looking for some of the old Buddhist remnants. Standard practice is to hire mercenary guards for any and all excavation efforts, both to avoid getting killed/kidnapped and to protect the items themselves since many religious militants are dead set at destroying any non-Muslim historical artifacts.
* Another possible inspiration for both [[Indiana Jones]] and [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Arthur Conan Doyle's]] Professor Challenger was Percy Fawcett whose exploits in South America read like something from fiction - such as fighting giant snakes. He died at the age of [[Badass Grandpa|fifty-seven]] while searching for the [[Lost World|'The Lost City of Z']].
* Cited as yet another possible inspiration for [[Indiana Jones]], [[wikipedia:Hiram Bingham III|Hiram Bingham III]] is famous for the rediscovery of the [[Lost World|lost city]] of Machu Picchu. He was also an aviator in World War I.
* Aurel Stein bears conspicuous note, because aside from bringing back spectacular booty (which he indeed did) he brought back records from an isolated outpost left over from the collapse of a past Chinese dynasty. Records which contained [[Sarcasm Mode|exciting]] things rather like,"Farmer Wong has paid his taxes on the land he holds, case dismissed."
* [[Wikipedia:Experimental archaeology|Experimental archaeology]] is a field of archaeology that tests hypothesis on how things worked by building replicas and using them. [[Tobias Capwell|Doctor Toby Capwell]] has jousted in full armor, escorted the remains of a lost king, and organized tests on efficacy of historically patterned armor, all while being a respected historian in the traditional sense.
** [[Wikipedia:Historical European martial arts|Historical European martial arts]] or HEMA is about recreating lost martial technique from surviving historical manuals. Essentially archaeologists who swordfight eachother.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Dungeon Tropes]]
[[Category:Occupation Tropes]]
[[Category:Older Than Radio]]
[[Category:Somewhere This Index Is Crying]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
▲[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool]]
| |||