Writing about Archaeology

by Graham Connah

Overview

In this book, Graham Connah offers an overview of archaeological authorship: its diversity, its challenges, and its methodology. Based on his own experiences, he presents his personal views about the task of writing about archaeology. The book is not intended to be a technical manual. Instead, Connah aims to encourage archaeologists who write about their subject to think about the process of writing. He writes with the beginning author in mind, but the book will be of interest to all archaeologists who plan to publish their work. Connah’s overall premise is that those who write about archaeology need to be less concerned with content and more concerned with how they present it. It is not enough to be a good archaeologist. One must also become a good writer and be able to communicate effectively. Archaeology, he argues, is above all a literary discipline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521688512
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/08/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Graham Connah is a Visiting Fellow in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra. A scholar of the archaeology of Africa and Australia, he is the author of eight books and founded the journal Australasian Historical Archaeology.

Table of Contents

Figures ix

Preface and Acknowledgements xi

1 Creating the canon: The integral role of writing in archaeology 1

2 Learning from others: Archaeological writers past and present 11

3 Readership determines form: For whom are we writing? 43

4 Turning data into text: Images of the past 59

5 The process of writing: 10 percent inspiration, 90 percent perspiration 72

6 Visual explanation: Pictures that should talk 91

7 Pleasing everyone: Writing for different types of publication 136

8 Publishers, editors and referees: Devils incarnate or guardian angels? 158

9 The publication process: Creating a quality product 172

10 The aftermath: Reviewers and readers 184

References 191

Index 205

Editorial Reviews

"Writing About Archaeology should succeed in advising and inspiring both longtime professionals and those new to the field." -John Roby, Historical Archaeology

"Graham Connah stretches a guiding hand to take the aspiring writer step by step towards getting those hard-earned words into form that will endure the test of time and the critics." -TLS

"This book is both excellent and timely. Each chapter is tightly targeted and pertinent to the theme." -Alicia Colson, European Journal of Archaeology

"Writing About Archaeology imparts practical experience, personal opinion and general advice about writing and publishing on archaeology from the perspective of an accomplished academic archaeologist." -Danielle Y. Cornacchia, Canadian Journal of Archaeology

From the Publisher