No publications or presentations (archaeology)

[AnthroPerson]

Tried searching this but didn't find anything to answer my question, apologies if I'm just awful at forum searches.

I don't have any official publications or presentations, unless you count my senior thesis which is in my school's library (I don't).

How terrible is this in a field like archaeology, where there isn't a lot of teamwork on publications. Aside from fieldwork reports, which tend to list all the unit heads as coauthors after the site leader(s), it's usually just one or two names on a publication.

I went to a top school undergrad but wasn't aware of any of my peers being published in my field... but that may just have been my department's culture?

So rambling aside, Question One is: How bad is it (in this field especially) not to have publications?

Questions Two is, do the following count at all as a pub/presentation?

- A brief (6 page) summary of analysis conducted for a archaeological project, which is now included in the site's permanent archives (not published anywhere formally but available for anyone who would want to review it for their own research)

- a presentation of my work to the entire department as a conclusion to a competitive internship

Sorry for rambling, it's getting to the point of the application process where I may have lost my mind.

[fuzzylogician]

So rambling aside, Question One is: How bad is it (in this field especially) not to have publications?

Unless archaeology is substantially different from other fields, it's not bad at all. In fact, it's the most common state of affairs for students who are just out of undergrad. In many fields, it's also the case for most MA students. Publications take time and are difficult to manufacture, especially as a beginner scholar. At least in my field, no one expects students to have publications coming into a program. Conference presentations are nice (and easier to get) but also not required.

Questions Two is, do the following count at all as a pub/presentation?

- A brief (6 page) summary of analysis conducted for a archaeological project, which is now included in the site's permanent archives (not published anywhere formally but available for anyone who would want to review it for their own research)

This is not a publication, as you say yourself. It wasn't published anywhere. You could list this on your CV as a manuscript if you so wish, and provide the URL.

- a presentation of my work to the entire department as a conclusion to a competitive internship

You could mention this as a department-internal presentation if you want. I think it'd serve you better to simply talk about this experience in your SOP and/or have a recommender write about the experience for you. The presentation aspect of the project is probably the least important here, given the venue where you presented.

Bottom line: you are worrying too much about what is a very common state of affairs and, I fear, may be trying to overcompensate by listing things on your CV that don't need to be there.

[AnthroPerson]

OK thanks, glad to know I'm just over-thinking things!