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{{trope}}
[[File:Indy vs real 4122.jpg|link=Cracked.com|
{{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.
▲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]]s. Lots of [[MacGuffin]]s. 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]]s, 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]]!
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'''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]].)
An
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
This trope is [[Older Than Radio]], an accomplishment when considering that
It should be noted, however, that this Trope and its origins do come from [[Truth in Television|Truth in... err
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 Muto—he found the Millennium Puzzle in a pharaoh's tomb filled with all sorts of traps.
* 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.}}
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* 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.
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* 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]]s.
▲** 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.]]
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* ''[[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.
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* 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.
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* 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.
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* 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.
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* 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]]}}
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* ''[[Homestuck]]'': [[Genki Girl|Aradia Megido]] was one before she died. [[Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl|Even after death]], she continued exploring and retrieving items from ruins, except she was focused on one set of prediscovered ruins with the intent of using them to create [[The Game Plays You|Sgrub]].
** 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.
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* 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 Adventurer Archaeologist guest star characters, one of whom is an [[Indiana Jones]] parody.
** 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...
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* 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.
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** 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.
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* 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|
* 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: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]]
▲[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
▲[[Category:Punk Punk]]
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