Like wind chimes in a breeze, all that's heard in the consultant's office is harmonic clinking and clunking of glass and rock. Multi-colored bits and pieces of ceramics spill off tables and onto the floor, which needs sweeping. Marked boxes, one atop another, become walls, separating project finds. "This is from prehistoric America," says one archaeologist as he picks up a bone. "Not the time of dinosaurs, but prior to recorded American history."

In the past, consulting has branched into archaeology, turning what traditionally has been an exercise for universities into a profit-making venture. Explorations were generally done by university teams but the need for speed and precise scheduling has brought traditional firms into the act. And there are specialized archaeology firms that are equipped to make money by moving fast as well.

Legislation involving construction and archaeological resources first cropped up in 1906 when Congress gave the President authority to withdraw public lands from use to protect archaeological and cultural resources. A 1935 law enabled the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate, preserve and acquire cultural resources. But it was the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act that gave archaeologists the means to make money. The act set up state historic preservation offices and permits spending up to 1% of a federal projects cost on archaeology.

A number of states and cities also have laws requiring preservation of artifacts found on both public and private construction sites. Archaeology practitioners have varying qualifications "Private firms are faster and more efficient than universities," says Barry D. Greenhouse, president of Greenhouse Consultants Incorporated of Atlanta and New York.

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