2023 American Perception of Archaeology Ipsos Poll

Full Ipsos Public Poll Findings and Methodology

Americans’ overall interest and familiarity with the subject of archaeology remains unchanged since 2018, with the majority of Americans expressing at least some interest in the subject. Not only do the majority of Americans believe the work of an archaeologist is important to the nation as a whole, but the majority also agree that the U.S. government should focus on creating laws to increase the funding and preservation of archaeological sites. However, Americans are less likely to see archaeology as important to themselves, their communities, or their heritage. As with overall interest, Americans’ opinions and beliefs regarding the importance of archaeology remain consistent with responses seen in 2018.

Key Findings Summary

  1. Americans’ overall interest and familiarity with Archaeology remains unchanged since 2018, with the majority of Americans expressing at least some interest in the subject.
    • Overall, interest in archaeology remains consistent. Americans in 2023 and 2018 rate their interest in archeology at 5.2 on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being not interested and 10 being very interested.
    • Notably, just over half of all Americans (56%) say they are familiar with archaeology, a 9 percentage point drop from 2018 (65%). Interest in archaeology is rated significantly higher at 6.2 out of 10 among those who are familiar with the subject, compared to those who are not (average rating of 3.6)
    • When asked to rate their interest in a variety of scientific topics, Americans rate animals, American history, and the past as the top three areas of interest, mirroring the responses from 2018. Those familiar with archaeology also have high levels of interest in other archaeology-related topics such as ancient civilizations (average rating of 7.2 on interest scale) and the pyramids of Egypt (average rating of 7.1 on interest scale)
    • Just over 1 in 4 Americans say they are not interested in archaeology (28%), rating their interest between 0 and 3 on the interest scale. These respondents say they are primarily not interested in archaeology because it is not important to them (31%) or they have never had the opportunity to learn about the subject (29%). About a quarter also say they find the topic boring (25%) or do not have the time (23%).
  2. Over 4 in 5 Americans say they believe the work of an archaeologist is important, and the majority agree that the U.S. government should focus on creating laws to increase the funding and preservation of archaeological sites. As with overall interest, Americans’ opinions and beliefs regarding the importance of archaeology for themselves and the nation as a whole, remain consistent with responses seen in 2018. 
    • 88% of Americans believe archaeology to be important, in line with how Americans responded in 2018 (93%). Additionally, the majority of Americans (81%) have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the archaeological community’s explanations about the past.
    • While about three-quarters of Americans, both in 2023 and 2018, agree that archaeology is important to the nation (73%), significantly fewer say the same about archaeology’s importance to their community (49%), their personal life or heritage (49%), for shaping public policy (41%) or for the economy (40%). These answers reflect responses from 2018. Additionally, there are no significant differences in responses by voter registration.
    • Over seven in ten Americans agree there should be laws to protect American archaeological sites or artifacts (77%). Notably, registered voters are significantly more likely to agree with this statement than are those not registered to vote (80% vs. 64%)
    • About two-thirds say preserving archaeological sites should be a priority for the U.S. government (64%), while a smaller majority also agree that government funding for the discovery and protection of archaeological sites should increase (55%) and that they are concerned archaeological sites are not being well protected by the government (52%).
  3. While less than half of all Americans have learned about archaeology in a classroom, the majority of Americans believe that archaeology should be a regular part of school curriculum, particularly for high school and middle school students.
    • About three-quarters believe that archaeology is part of the sciences (73%), whereas half believe it to be part of the humanities (51%). The top three subject areas Americans believe archaeologists study are artifacts (72%), past cultures (66%), and human remains (62%).
    • For both those familiar with archaeology and those who are not, television, museums, and classroom or textbooks are the main platforms where Americans learn about archaeology. Notably, those without a college degree are significantly more likely to say they have never learned about archaeology (17%) than those with a college degree (9%).
    • Less than half say they learned about archaeology in the classroom (47%). However, a supermajority (86%) believe archaeology should be a regular part of the school curriculum for students. The largest share of Americans say archaeology should be a regular part of the curriculum for high school students (57%) and middle school students (53%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the Society for American Archeology, the Society for Historical Archaeology, the Archaeological Institute of America, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Service, and the Peabody Institute of Archaeology between January 17-18, 2023. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii was interviewed online in English.

The poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points for all respondents. For full results, please refer to the American Perception of Archaeology Survey Full Results.

Contact: Jennifer Berg, Director, US Public Affairs, Ipsos
Email: Jennifer.berg@ipsos.com
Tel: +312 256 4224