When I started looking for archaeological websites to post about, I did what most tech savvy generation z-ers would do: I searched "archaeology" on Google. While the list began with scholarly sources like Archaeology Magazine and the Archaeological Institute of America's website. There were also less academically trusted sites like the Wikipedia and About.com pages for archaeology. The bottom of the first page of results produced an interesting result; the "Archaeology" page of the World of Warcraft website.
I've never played games like "WOW", but I would definitely not expect them to have any relation to the subject of archaeology. Upon further investigation, I uncovered the fact that WOW has numerous games simulating careers. Why this would be a career anyone wanted to simulate beats me. After hearing all semester how archaeology can be interesting but for the most part is tedious and often dissapointing, I can't imagine why someone would want to play a video game where you pretend to be an archaeologist.
Then I remembered... Most people don't know anything about archaeology as a discipline itself. When people think of archaeology, they think of the information readily presented to them. They think of Indiana Jones and the exciting discoveries detailed in the news in an intense and exciting way. So then is this the product of the public's lack of knowledge or is it just another factor driving their naivete regarding the discipline of archaeology? While I hate choosing "all of the above" on tests, I would have to say this really is a mix of the two choices. While it is clearly relatively new and therefore a product of the common misconceptions of archaeology, it is also continuing to feed the idea that the discipline is excitement filled and Indiana Jones-esque.
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