State of Knowledge and Current Debates
Archaeology has a long history of generating fascination outside of academia. The interpretation of sites, cultural artifacts, and past human behavior using archaeological methods provides a rich source of material for communicating the human stories behind scientific data. Most archaeologists will be involved in public or media communication at some point in their career. When done effectively, science communication in archaeology benefits both society and the discipline. In practice, effective science communication can be time-consuming and challenging. It requires a different set of skills to those used by researchers when communicating within academia, and archaeologists are not typically trained in public engagement techniques. Although science communication and public engagement are increasingly seen as a vital part of an archaeologist’s role, it can still be difficult for archaeologists to balance the time and resources to communicate their...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Barker, A.W. 2010. Exhibiting archaeology: Archaeology and museums. Annual Review of Anthropology 39: 293–308.
Bartu, A. 2000. Where is Çatalhöyük? Multiple sites in the construction of an archaeological site. In Towards reflexive method in archaeology: The example at Çatalhöyük, ed. I. Hodder, 101–109. Cambridge, UK: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge; Distributed by Oxbow Books.
Bartu-Candan, A. 2005. Entanglements/encounters/engagements with prehistory: Çatalhöyük and its publics. In Çatalhöyük perspectives: Reports from the 1995–99 seasons, McDonald Institute Monographs/Çatalhöyük Research Project Vol.6/BIIA Monograph 40, ed. I. Hodder, 27–38. Cambridge, UK: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research/British Institute at Ankara.
Byrne, S. 2012. Community archaeology as knowledge management: Reflections from Uneapa Island, Papua New Guinea. Public Archaeology 11 (1): 26–52. https://doi.org/10.1179/175355312X13311392295513.
Clack, T., and M. Brittain. 2007. Archaeology and the media. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press.
Dahlstrom, M.F. 2014. Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (Supplement 4): 13614–13620.
Harding, A. 2007. Communication in archaeology. European Journal of Archaeology 10 (2–3): 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108095980.
Hilgard, J., and N. Li. 2017. A recap: The science of communicating science. In The Oxford handbook of the science of science communication, ed. K. Hall Jamieson, D.M. Kahan, and D.A. Scheufele. New York: Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190497620.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190497620-e-8.
Hodder, I. 1989. Writing archaeology: Site reports in context. Antiquity 63 (239): 268–274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00075980.
Holtorf, C. 2007a. Archaeology is a brand! The meaning of archaeology in contemporary popular culture. Oxford/Walnut Creek: Archaeopress/AltaMira Press.
Holtorf, C. 2007b. Can you hear me at the back? Archaeology, communication and society. European Journal of Archaeology 10 (2–3): 149–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108095982.
Joyce, R. 2008. Languages of archaeology: Dialogue, narrative, and writing. Chichester: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470693520.
Little, B.J., and P.A. Shackel. 2007. Archaeology as a tool of civic engagement. Lanham: AltaMira Press.
Moussouri, T. 2014. From telling to consulting: A perspective on museums and modes of public engagement. In Public participation in archaeology, ed. S. Thomas and J. Lea, 11–22. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer. https://doi.org/10.7722/j.ctt5vj829.
Rathje, W.L., and C. Murphy. 1992. Rubbish!: The archaeology of garbage. 1st ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Sabloff, J.A. 2016. Archaeology matters: Action archaeology in the modern world. Milton: Taylor and Francis.
Scherzler, D. 2007. Journalists and archaeologists: Notes on dealing constructively with the mass media. European Journal of Archaeology 10 (2–3): 185–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108095984.
Simpson, F., and H. Williams. 2008. Evaluating community archaeology in the UK. Public Archaeology 7 (2): 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1179/175355308X329955.
Smith, M.L. 2014. Citizen science in archaeology. American Antiquity 79 (4): 749–762. https://doi.org/10.7183/0002-7316.79.4.749.
Stocklmayer, S. 2013. Engagement with science: Models of science communication. In Communication and engagement with science and technology: Issues and dilemmas: A reader in science communication, ed. J.K. Gilbert and S. Stocklmayer. New York: Routledge.
Tilley, C. 1989. Excavation as theatre. Antiquity 63 (239): 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00075992.
van Dyke, R.M., and R. Bernbeck. 2015. Subjects and narratives in archaeology. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
Watkins, J.E. 2006. Communicating archaeology: Words to the wise. Journal of Social Archaeology 6 (1): 100–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469605306060569.
Further Reading
Bonacchi, C., ed. 2012. Archaeology and digital communication: Towards strategies of public engagement. Archetype Publications.
B. Fischoff, and D.A. Scheufele, eds. 2014. The science of science communication II. Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences 111(4).
Hall Jamieson, K., D.M. Kahan, and D.A. Scheufele, eds. 2017. The Oxford handbook of the science of science communication. New York: Oxford University Press.
Websites
CITiZAn (Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network). n.d. Citizen science initiative that monitors the threat to a coastal and estuarine U.K. archaeological sites.
Collective Memory. n.d. This UK-based resource is a database of evaluations from a diverse range of science communication initiatives. It has been deliberately designed to encourage sharing of good practice amongst practitioners from across the science communication community.
GlobalXplorer. n.d. Citizen science initiative using satellite imagery to identify and monitor archaeological sites.
Interactive digs. n.d. Website by the Archaeological Institute of America and Archaeology Magazine’s provides layered online experience that allows audiences to explore the processes of excavation along multiple pathways in a range of different excavation contexts.
Medieval churches project. n.d. Citizen science project from the UK.
The Thousand-Year Graveyard. n.d. Multimedia story on archaeology by a foremost archaeology journalist.
Related Journals
International School for Advanced Studies. 2002. Journal of Science Communication: JCOM. Journal.
Maney Publishing, Institute of Archaeology at University College. n.d.. Public Archaeology. Journal. London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mant-Melville, A. (2020). Science Communication in Archaeology. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30018-0_34
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30018-0_34
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-30016-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-30018-0
eBook Packages: HistoryReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities