For anthropology Prof. Elizabeth Arkush, the past has been a lifelong passion.
"I have wanted to be an archaeologist as long as I can remember," Arkush said. "At an age where people would say they want to be a ballerina, I would be doing excavations in my backyard, finding toys from 10 years ago."
Arkush said her passion for archaeology stems from the material closeness one has with the past.
"Archaeology is very exciting for me," Arkush said. "You can be in a landscape that's been utilized for thousands of years by different cultures for many different purposes, and I think that is fascinating."
Arkush also pointed out archaeology's real interest is in the people rather than objects, as is usually thought.
"People think of archaeology usually in terms of an Indiana Jones view of archaeology," Arkush said. They "think that we are after the golden statue in the temple and little goodies like that. Those things are obviously important to us, but we are really interested in how those things represent the kind of lives people who used them led."
Arkush, whose specialty is the archaeology of the Andes, said her interest in the region was aroused due to the freedom to formulate her own questions about the past.
"I studied classics as an undergraduate, and I really enjoyed it, but the sort of questions I was asking weren't being answered," Arkush said. "And in terms of archaeology, [the fields of Greek and Roman archaeology] were dominated by texts that shape the type of questions people were asking. Whereas, in the region of Andes, you don't have such a thing. There are not texts to shape your questions, it really is up to archaeology to understand this culture."
Archaeology extends itself to many different applications, such as conservation archaeology, where archaeologists look for or preserve any archaeological remains during construction, or museum work, but Arkush said she preferred the academic side of her field.
"I always knew I wanted to be a professor as well as an archaeologist," Arkush said. "I like teaching; I like the intellectual freedom that I have at a research university like U.Va., where I am not confined by whatever construction company or national park asks me to do. As an academic, you get to work on projects that interest you."
Arkush has joined the faculty this year after having studied classics as an undergraduate at Harvard University, completing her doctorate degree at UCLA and teaching for a year at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Arkush said her experience in Charlottesville has been a very positive one so far.
"It has certainly been very different here, but I really like Charlottesville," Arkush said. "I loved L.A., but once I was done with my studies, my husband and I were ready to leave. It is extremely convenient here -- it doesn't take you three hours to do your groceries, and the quality of life is just great."
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