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| Bulletin of the History of Archaeology | |
|---|---|
| Title | Bulletin of the History of Archaeology |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology is a peer-reviewed periodical devoted to the study of the historical development of archaeological practice, theory, and institutions. It situates the emergence of archaeological inquiry within broader contexts such as exploration, colonialism, and museum formation while engaging with biographies of practitioners and histories of collections. The journal connects individual case studies to institutional histories and historiographical debates about fieldwork, curation, and disciplinary change.
The journal was founded amid renewed historiographical interest in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that linked figures and events such as Heinrich Schliemann, Howard Carter, John Lubbock, Flinders Petrie, and Augustus Pitt Rivers to wider institutional developments involving British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Pitt Rivers Museum, and Musée du Louvre. Early editorial initiatives reflected dialogues between historians who studied episodes like the Excavations at Troy, the Tutankhamun excavation, and the careers of collectors such as Lord Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and John Taylor; these conversations also referenced the role of exhibitions like the Great Exhibition and organizations like the Royal Archaeological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries of London. Over time the journal paralleled shifts traced in scholarship on figures including Kathleen Kenyon, Mortimer Wheeler, Gertrude Bell, Howard Carter's contemporaries, and institutions such as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University College London.
The journal publishes research that connects site histories such as Stonehenge, Çatalhöyük, Pompeii, Mohenjo-daro, and Maya lowland sites with biographies of archaeologists like Sir Arthur Evans, Hiram Bingham, Marija Gimbutas, and Jacques Cauvin. It treats archival studies involving collections at the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and archives like the British Library and National Archives (UK), while engaging with debates sparked by events such as the Nazi plunder of art, the Iraq War cultural heritage crises, and repatriation cases involving Elgin Marbles and Benin Bronzes. Topics range from methodological histories linked to stratigraphy development and debates following publications like V. Gordon Childe's works to institutional analyses of bodies such as the UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
The editorial board traditionally includes scholars affiliated with universities and museums: examples span appointments at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, University College London, and curators from institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum. The journal employs peer review practices seen in academic venues like American Antiquity and Antiquity (journal), and publishes special issues that focus on themes related to conferences organized by bodies such as the European Association of Archaeologists and the World Archaeological Congress. Publication formats have encompassed print runs and digital editions, mirroring shifts effected by platforms such as JSTOR, Project MUSE, and institutional repositories at Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.
Access pathways include institutional subscriptions at libraries like the Library of Congress, the Bodleian Libraries, and the New York Public Library, alongside availability through aggregators and databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and subject indexes used by researchers at Institute of Archaeology, UCL and School of Oriental and African Studies. The journal's reach into bibliographic records connects work cited in monographs published by presses like Routledge, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Bloomsbury and referenced in theses lodged at universities including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University.
Notable contributions have included archival revelations about collectors linked to Colonial Office records, reinterpretations of field diaries from expeditions like the Lewis and Clark Expedition (in comparative methodological discussions), and reassessments of prominent campaigns such as the Egypt Exploration Fund and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Articles have influenced curatorial practices at institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Ashmolean Museum, and shaped policy debates invoked in forums hosted by UNESCO and the International Council on Museums (ICOM), informing restitution dialogues around artifacts associated with Benin, Iraq, and Greece.
Scholarly reception has ranged from praise in venues like Journal of Archaeological Research and citations in works by historians at Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania to critiques focusing on representational balance, comparisons to historiographies of sciences exemplified by studies at London School of Economics and Johns Hopkins University, and concerns raised in forums such as meetings of the World Archaeological Congress. Critics have urged stronger engagement with decolonial scholarship emerging from centers including University of Cape Town, University of the West Indies, and National University of Singapore, and have recommended expanded dialogue with indigenous scholarship represented in journals like American Indian Quarterly and publications associated with Aboriginal Studies Press.
Category:Archaeology journals