Dr. Annemieke Milks is an honorary research fellow at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. She earned her PhD from UCL’s Institute of Archaeology. She has been published in various publications and has a focus in Pleistocene humans and weapon technology as well as the archaeology of hunter-gatherer children.
What area do you work in/what is your field of study?
I am a Palaeolithic archaeologist. I specialise in early weaponry and wooden artefacts, and I do a lot of experimental archaeology. I did my doctorate on those two combined, looking at the earliest weapons in the archaeological record, which are plain wooden spears. These were made and used by hominins in Europe from about 400,000 years ago, and continued to be used by Neanderthals and also H. sapiens, alongside other types of weapons. We think they were primarily hunting tools. I have recently started focusing on the archaeology of children, trying to better understand what life and learning was like for hunter-gatherer children in the past.
What do you like most/what is most interesting about your job?
I most enjoy working with like-minded people who are excited to better understand the human story. For me it’s a story of diversity – diverse ways of doing things and of thinking. I still get really excited that I get to be a part of sharing this human story, and feel really lucky to be allowed to touch objects that Neanderthals touched hundreds of thousands of years ago!
What kinds of jobs are there in this field (for example, where or who can you work for)?
One of the great things about archaeology is that there are a huge range of jobs (though, not nearly enough of them for all the talented folks out there). Many people do excavate a lot, and for some archaeologists it’s the bulk of their work. For me excavation has been an enjoyable but small part of my work. Most of my work is a combination of studying artefacts (usually backstage in museums), collecting new data about how tools might have been used by working with people skilled to use similar objects (like, asking javelin athletes to throw ancient spear replicas and see what happens), analysing data using statistics, and writing papers. Many other people work in laboratory settings, while there are also jobs working in museums. There really is something for everyone in archaeology. My current job is at a museum in Hannover (Germany) but I do a lot of my work from my desk in the United Kingdom right now since we can’t travel.
How do you think archaeology/anthropology/paleontology is being brought into the modern age?
Archaeology faces multiple challenges that relate to wider global challenges. Some necessary work going on at the moment includes the role archaeology plays in potential loss of heritage and climate change through its association with land development, and also how we contribute to climate change with our flights and trips for research, excavations, conferences and more. We have to think a lot about that, and do better! Another important area is the delayed move to decolonise the discipline through facing racist ideas and actions that were the building blocks of early archaeological and anthropological sciences.
As a woman, what challenges have you faced in this field?
As a woman my primary challenge has been finding work that is adaptable to my role as a mother. I have had many obstacles from lots of different directions. It’s actually been a little sad to realise how complicated this still is for women. Thankfully I’m starting to see chinks of light with employers who are thinking about the flexibility they can offer in terms of hours and location of working – that helps women progress and bring our expertise and ideas! It should not have to be a choice between working and having a family. I have many colleagues who are women who were told they had to choose! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that being said to a man. Women also face many other challenges including harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and that’s even more challenging for minorities. The European Association of Archaeologists did a great campaign at the 2018 conference in Barcelona that had a lot of European archaeologists talking about the need for change. You can see a bit about it here: https://twitter.com/OverdressedArch/status/1038073408389566464
How did you first get started in this field and/or what were some of the most important steps or influences on your journey to becoming a scientist in this field?
I first got started in archaeology when I was a bit ‘older’ – in my late 20s. That’s because before that I was a professional violinist. I had a bad accident followed by 3 years of pain and physical therapy. When I decided to give up my music I was heartbroken, and knew I’d need to replace that with something that felt meaningful. I made a sort of snap decision to study archaeology! I was always interested as a kid, and I’d had one course in Mesoamerican archaeology while an undergraduate music student at University of Michigan. I always say that the wide-ranging requirements of undergraduate degrees in the USA are a big reason I felt confident to go into archaeology with no appropriate background. Of course lots of things were a struggle – for example I hadn’t really done any math apart from music theory since 10th grade, so I had some catching up to do in order to learn statistics. Most important for me in progressing through my studies have been a handful of people who didn’t judge me for what I didn’t know but rather celebrated my courage to try something totally new. That helped me not judge myself either. Every step in archaeology is a learning journey, filled with new challenges resulting in new knowledge and understanding. That’s what makes me tick!
My Reflection:
First off, as I say to all my interviewees, thank you so much to Dr. Milks for working with me and writing such in-depth and interesting answers! It was so cool to connect with someone across the world and I really loved all of Dr. Milks answers, so this reflection might be a long one! I found her interest in the archaeology of children really intriguing because I think it is definitely true that we don’t learn or know that much about the lives of hunter-gatherer children, or any children from the Paleolithic period. As a kid myself, it’d be super cool to know more about what kids my age were doing thousands of years ago. I also loved her point about it being cool to touch things that Neanderthals touched hundreds of thousands of years ago, because that is really one of the most appealing aspects of archaeology for me: the connection to past peoples. It was also cool to read about all the different jobs there are in this field- I definitely think excavation or laboratory work is what interests me the most. Dr. Milks made some really great points as well about decolonizing (don’t mind my American spelling :D) this field and being aware of our climate footprint, and I agree that that is really important. Finally, I just really enjoyed reading about Dr. Milks whole story, and as someone who is a longtime violin player, it was cool to learn that we share not one, but two passions/interests! Once again, thank you Dr. Milks for answering these questions and giving me some more insight into this awesome field!
The Rosalind Project 