I don’t remember Indiana Jones ever digging up or journaling his findings. It may be that I haven’t seen the movies in too long. More likely, he’s taking all the fun trips, while the excavating and documenting of everything is left to some unsung heroes, the “top men” referred to in the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.
In my experience, archaeology is a destructive process. Structures and artifacts of the past are unearthed, and are either destroyed in the process, or made vulnerable to destruction afterwards, by passersby, weather, other researchers, etc. This means careful work has to be put into not breaking things more than they already are, and meticulously documenting everything about the structure or artifact. By chipping, scrapping, and brushing away at dirt, removing artifacts and dislodging loose rocks, I am destroying a site, taking things out of their context, so the story of the sight may be lost forever. However there is a chance at redemption for my vandalism. If I can document everything I find, and either leave a good explanation for the findings to explain the history of the site, or leave good enough notes for someone else to do it, humanity is left with something worth as much or more than the ruins that preceded the excavation. Indiana Jones in “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” manages to destroy an entire Central American indigenous temple/structure through his shenanigans, without documenting or saving anything, he is the worst archaeologist I can think of.
The available records of lifestyles, craftsmanship, trade, war, etc from countless civilizations are only available to us because of so much digging and journaling, not mine-cart chases in India.
So much digging, squatting, walking buckets full of dirt and rocks to throw them over a cliffside, and sweating are noticeably absent from the Indiana Jones movies. This is not to say I don’t enjoy the practice. I feel crucial to the archaeological/historical process as I pack away pieces of fine pottery, glass, and bones, articulate potential walls/features, and document it all for researchers to read later on, and it’s a good feeling.