Archaeologists are a special breed. They love learning about the past and piecing together ancient civilizations. If you have an archaeologist, you know that they can be hard to shop for. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! This blog post will discuss 33 of the best gift ideas for archaeologists. Whether your archaeologist is into fieldwork or prefers to stay in the lab, we have something for them!
1. StrikeMaster Lazer Auger-8 in. LD-8
For those times when the coring bit won’t cut it, this hand auger by StrikeMaster is an invaluable tool. It can get to places the coring bits can’t, and it’s easier to use in tight spots and for removing obstructions from samples. Your archaeologist friends will surely be pleased with this unique gift.
2. Fiskars 384220-1001 Ergo Garden Hand Trowel
The archaeologist in your life will probably want one of these specialized trowels with a heavy-duty grip handle made for archaeology. They won’t cut back on the pain, but they make digging smaller holes easier and less dirty. This is another one of those tools with several choices on Amazon, so you should be able to find something that works for your archaeologist friend.
3. 36-Inch Long Earth Auger with Fishtail Point
That’s right, an auger just for the dirt. Archaeology students will definitely want a four-piece Earth Auger with a heavy-duty handle and a 3/8″ bit. T can use this one to drill out those pesky tree roots, too (not that woodsmen ever have problems with tree roots).
4. Mayhew Handguarded Mason Chisel
An archaeologist’s chisel should be high carbon steel and have flat or slightly curved sides with a smooth face and cutting edge. This will allow your loved ones to chop out small pieces of stone without breaking through them (and making their life harder).
5. General Tools 130 T Handle Reamer
Archaeologists can’t live without reamers. Thye can use them to cut small holes in bones, smooth edges on flints and cores, or punch holes into stone for later use (like when they want to put a label on it).
6. Brass Cork Borer Sets with Handles
Another tool that archaeologists love to have is a coring borer. These boring tools are used for drilling holes into bone samples so that archaeologists can remove small sections of the bone at a time to examine them under a microscope.
7. Hand Mounted - Concrete Core Drill
An entry-level coring drill is a great gift for an archaeologist who takes their research seriously. This tool will allow the archaeologist to pull larger stone blocks out of the ground in small sections. This is crucial for helping to preserve the context at archaeological sites.
8. Hallmark Solid Color Goodie Bags
A goodie bag is great because it comes pre-filled with goodies like trowels, reamers, brushes, and more! You can get them empty or filled with stuff, and they come in either a long body bag or a small drawstring bag.
9. Magnetic Self-Stick 3-Ring Photo Album
A good set of photo albums is an excellent gift for archaeologists who love to keep their digs and research pictures. These come in fabric or leather bindings and have padded pages to keep your photos safe.
10. Advanced Onsite Sensor Digital Caliper
Archaeologists don’t just need calipers to measure bones’ diameters but also the depth and size of holes in the soil. These make great archaeologically-inspired gifts.
11. Aluminum 8-Foot Telescoping Rod in Feet
Archaeologists can’t live without measuring rods. These are used mostly for taking measurements from baseline features on archaeological sites such as walls or roads. Still, they are helpful for any kind of measurement.
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12. Paraffin Wax Refill, 1 Pound Scented Blocks
Archaeologists can’t live without wax markers! These non-toxic markers are perfect for creating their own identification labels for small samples they may dig up at archaeological sites (such as foil-backed tags, plastic bags, and more). You can’t get these pre-labeled, but they come in various fragrances and sizes.
13. Lab-Grade Denatured Ethyl Alcohol, 95%
Denatured alcohol removes lab samples from the microscope slide and cleans up glass beads and other archaeological tools. Any archaeologist will tell you that this is one of the most important things in the field kit.
14. Soft-Picks Original Dental Picks
Dental picks are used for digging up small stones, seeds, or other items at archaeological sites that are too small for normal excavation tools but too big to leave in the ground. This is another one of those tools archaeologists can’t live without! You can get a tiny 50. 100 piece set or a huge 150, 300 piece set.
15. 4 Piece Hook & Pick Set with Acetate Handles
Archaeologists need small picks to get in between objects too large for them to handle. These come in different sizes and styles.
16. Round Aluminum Rod, 1/2" OD x 12" Long
Archaeologists will love small 12″ diameter metal rods for scraping away tiny pieces of dirt or smoothing out small rocks with trowels and hand tools. This one on Amazon is a good one.
17. Hand Lens, 3X & 6X Magnifier
Archaeologists can’t live without hand lenses. They can use these to examine small pieces of dirt and stone, or even bones and teeth, under the microscope. These come in 2 different magnification powers, 3X and 6X.
18. KAVU Rope Bag - Sling Pack
A field bag will help keep all of your gear together in the field. This one on Amazon comes with a water-resistant lining that you can wash by hand if necessary. These bags generally have several pockets to help you organize everything you need to carry in the field.
19. VEVOR Outdoor 165LBS Load Handrail
Archaeologists can’t live without handrails. These are used to keep hands out of the dirt while working, but they also help prevent body from falling over in an accidental mishap.
20. Field Surveying Book
Archaeologists love field books for keeping notes and making notated drawings of their work.
21. Amazon Basics Dustless Chalk with Eraser
Archaeologists can use this inexpensive tool to mark features in the field with lines or when writing labels for their artifacts. This chalk set on Amazon has several different colors.
22. Heinz White Vinegar Distilled 1.32 gallons
Archaeologists need to use a non-toxic cleaner to clean their glass area in the field. We recommend white vinegar because it is mostly water with just a little acid that doesn’t make the glass runny when they use it.
23. Panasonic LUMIX FZ80 4K Digital Camera
Archaeologists love to take pictures of their digs, so the right camera can save their money on an expensive dig site. This one on Amazon has some affordable options to choose from.
24. Lamplight Chamber Oil Lamp
Archaeologists need an oil lamp to write labels while they are in the field (without light). This oil lamp on Amazon works great, making it a perfect gift.
25. Synthware Erlenmeyer Flask, 1000 mL
Archaeologists need flasks to store chemicals and supplies that they don’t need every day but need while in the field. This set on Amazon has a variety of colors to choose from.
26. Pack of 6 Stackable Plastic Storage Containers
Archaeologists love to keep their small finds in labeled plastic bags, so you’ll want to get some of these containers for them. They come in different sizes.
27. Wet Palette for Acrylic Painting
Palettes are used to mix paint, clean paintbrushes, or hold small microscopy samples. You can get these cheap ones on Amazon. These are truly unique archaeologist gifts.
28. Acrylic Paint Brush Set
Archaeologists love to paint their finds (on the field) with either preservative or labeling solutions. You can buy paintbrushes in many different sizes and shapes, but these are some of the best and cheapest ones we could search for on Amazon.
29. Labels with Sure Feed for Laser Printers
Archaeologists need labels for their artifacts and a variety of other things. This pack of labels comes in 6 different counts. It will let them create their own for special circumstances.
30. Brass Natural Cork Stopper (Pack of 100)
Archaeologists love to keep their bottled artifacts in small glass bottles. This one on Amazon is one of the good gift ideas for archaeologists to help in their job.
31. S-Biner with Double-Sided Bottle Openers
We all know that archaeologists need bottles open, so why not just get them a bottle opener? This one on Amazon has several colors. This is one of the cool gift ideas for archaeologists.
32. Timberland Scarf, Beanie & Glove Gift Set
These are used to make your loved person work protected from dust and other contaminants while in the field (they are also convenient to use every day if they don’t have any archaeological finds).
33. Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels, Huge Roll
To clean up after their work, archaeologists need paper towels to wipe their hands and the surfaces they are working with. This is a cheap pack of them on Amazon. This is one of the most useful gift ideas for archaeologists.
Takeaway
Whether you’re looking for archaeology gifts for an archaeology lover or just want to dig into the world of archaeology, we hope this list of 33 best gift ideas for archaeologists has given you some great ideas. We can’t wait to see what 2022 – and beyond – holds for archaeological discoveries. What was your favorite item on our list? Let us know in the comments below!