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For a space 4X.
There is a standard research system, Researchers research new techs. Standard.
But there are also ancient alien artifacts, Imperial Archeologists excavate these and then "PUT PROFESSION NAME HERE" study these to activete/learn secrets.
How to call them? Note I don't want them mixed up with the standard scientist/researchers that do the standard research since that's a completelly different mechanic.
Well. there are these people called astrophysicists and theoretical physicists who basically do research on stars and technology?
You could bundle it in with the archaeologists' tasks, or you could make it more of a cryptography-focus.
If you did the latter, you could go with cryptographer, but that has more of a communications implication. Maybe Decryptors?
You could also alter the word cruciverbalist, which means being a master at crossword puzzles.
Cryptozoologist is a real field. Xenology is a popular sci-fi term. Maybe 'Cryptoxenologist' would work.
Hmm, yeah, maybe I just should use archeologists for both purposes... Still, to me it feels archeologists being someone who digs stuff up (or Indiana Jones :D) not someone who studies these after these are acquired (like some "professors" studying these afterwards).
You could bundle it in with the archaeologists' tasks, or you could make it more of a cryptography-focus.
BTW, I love a lot of names mentioned in this topic :)
Xenohistorians, Antiquarians, archeoengineers?
You could also have archeologists study the artifacts and some other profession dig them up (treasure hunters, excavators, explorers). In real life very little of an archeologists time is spent on actual digs.
Scholars ...
Its generic/broad enough - and its at the level where the technical/practical details of obtaining the 'evidence' and artifacts can be ignored and their importance and relevance to the universe can be worked upon. With odd new things sometimes it takes 'looking outside the box' to figure what something really is which gets into philosophy also.
Much archeology these days is finding all the interesting bits and then someone else figures out their relevance
Heh, maybe like this. You have Archeologists, then you have subclasses: something-hunters find new ruins, Excavators explore ruins, Archeoengineers study and try to activate the artifacts, Xenohistorians decipher data discs with ancient forgotten lore. And a slider to which classes allocate your archeologists :)
