Independent Archaeologists Guild sign
The Independent Archaeologists Guild was an association of freelance archaeologists in the late 24th century. A non-profit organization, the Guild recovered precious artifacts in order to give it back to its rightful owners or donate it to museums. They purported to be committed to the peaceful pursuit of knowledge, though some regarded them as little better than artifact thieves due to their methods.
Petra Aberdeen joined the Independent Archaeologists Guild after leaving Starfleet. In 2381, she ran a recruitment booth for the Guild at a fair on Tulgana IV, during which she continually heckled Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler at the adjacent Starfleet booth. Eventually, Boimler lost his temper and went on a rampage, which was later revealed to have been Aberdeen's goal, so that she could create a distraction to steal the Grand Nagus' staff from the nearby Museum of Antiquities and return it to the Ferengi. (LD: "Reflections") A short time later that year, Aberdeen and her new partner, Mariner, secured a Klingon golden idol from Ferengi grave robbers with the aim to deliver it to the Qualor Historical Museum.
The Guild was financed by a substantial endowment from Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, though this was not common knowledge. (LD: "The Stars At Night")