1 definition by Kitastrophe85
Archaeologists who do large amounts of field work or do field work for other people's research. Mostly these are archaeologists who have yet to recieve their degrees or who don't have footing enough in the field to lead their own projects or obtain steady work.
They are so named for the dirty state in which they return at the end of the day.
This is in contrast to academic members of the field and is closely related to the term 'shovelbum' in that all shovelbums are dirt monkeys, but not all dirt monkeys are shovelbums. Dirt monkeys also include field school students, research assistants, and laborers. They are not a glamourous bunch who stand at odds with the archeostitute.
They are so named for the dirty state in which they return at the end of the day.
This is in contrast to academic members of the field and is closely related to the term 'shovelbum' in that all shovelbums are dirt monkeys, but not all dirt monkeys are shovelbums. Dirt monkeys also include field school students, research assistants, and laborers. They are not a glamourous bunch who stand at odds with the archeostitute.
The field school students and the shovelbums got along well, dispite their differences. After all, they were all dirt monkeys.
by Kitastrophe85 May 5, 2009