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Book Review: Kristian Kristiansen and Thomas B. Larsson, The Rise of Bronze Age Society: Travels, Transmissions and Transformations. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. xii + 449 pp., 170 figs, pbk, ISBN 13: 978 0 52160 4666, ISBN 10: 0521604664; hbk, ISBN 13: 978 0 5218 4363 8, ISBN 10: 0521843634)
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Book Review: Heather Margaret-Louise Miller, Archaeological Approaches to Technology. (New York: Academic Press/Elsevier, 2007, 298 pp., hbk, ISBN 978 0 12 496951 3)
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Communication in Archaeology
Communicating archaeology from one person or group to another is beset with problems. The media, the public and students all have different requirements, while the language in which they are addressed — both the spoken language and the intellectual framework or discourse — can act as a disincentive to understanding. Big changes are in store for archaeologists and for other members of the academic community as electronic publication takes over from traditional methods of dissemination such as the printed book. Archaeologists must be prepared for these changes, and should endeavour to put their findings across in a way that interests and stimulates their audience.
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Book Review: Ludmila Koryakova and Andrej Epimakhov, The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron Ages. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [Cambridge World Archaeology], 2007, 408pp., illustrated, hbk, 978 0 521 82928 1)
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Archaeology Journals, Academics and Open Access
Martin Carver connects academic peer review with the new technologies of publishing, particularly 'Open Access'. He recommends the development of four tiers of output: (1) the popular and commercial magazine printed in hard copy and supported by subscribers; (2) the national Open Access online journal, successor to the local journal and supported by local sponsorship; (3) the international Open Access peer-reviewed online journal, representing an intellectual or geographical research area and supported by subsidies and grants via authors. The European Journal of Archaeology is seen as an example. (4) The fourth tier is represented by a global journal such as Antiquity, serving all countries equally and maintaining its political, academic, and commercial independence through reader subscriptions.
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Book Review: Yannis Hamilakis, The Nation and its Ruins: Antiquity, Archaeology, and National Imagination in Greece (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, 352 pp., ISBN 978 0 19 923038 9)
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Can You Hear Me At the Back? Archaeology, Communication and Society
Archaeologists often enjoy the role of giving the people what the people want, at least, so long as that is information about the past. But besides the ambition to enlighten people about the past, there are at least two alternative approaches concerning the way archaeology communicates with its publics in society. One considers archaeology a business and sees people as potential customers who need to be persuaded to buy the products of archaeology. Another approach advocates democratic participation of people in archaeology and wishes to accommodate people's own preferences regarding archaeological studies. The point of this article is not to choose between these different models of communication but to ensure that future debates about the relations between archaeology and society will be informed by a better understanding of some fundamentally different approaches concerning the aims and character of archaeology's communication with various public audiences. Hopefully this discussion will also benefit very specific, future projects in public archaeology and thus ultimately serve both the archaeologists and their publics.
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Book Review: Lynne Bevan, Worshippers and Warriors: Reconstructing Gender and Gender Relations in the Prehistoric Rock Art of Naquane National Park, Valcamonica, Brescia, Northern Italy. (Oxford: Archaeopress [British Archaeological Reports S1485], 2006, 192 pp., pbk, ISBN 1 84171 920 X)
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Archaeology, Communication, and Multiple Stakeholders: From the Other Side of the Big Pond
This article reviews discussions and debates about effective communication within North American archaeology. The development of cultural resource management and the expansion of Native American control over archaeology have both influenced the practice and communication of archaeology. The concept of diverse stakeholders derives from discussions about ethics in archaeology, but is relevant to understanding the complexities of archaeological communication. Rather than focus on criticisms of archaeological communication, various examples of effective communication are provided.
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Book Review: Ray Laurence, Roman Pompeii: Space and Society. Second edition. (New York: Routledge, 2006, 216 pp., pbk, ISBN 0 415 39125 3)
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Journalists and Archaeologists: Notes On Dealing Constructively With the Mass Media
Over the past few decades the mass media have increasingly shaped public awareness. For many people, television, the radio, or the press are the only sources for archaeological topics and it is essential, therefore, to be able to collaborate with the world of journalism. It is not only sensational news stories that have an opportunity of being covered by the media, but also serious issues — provided that they are well told. Communicating scientific results to an audience outside one's own specialist subject is, however, not only a question of good will, but also of skill. This article focuses on how to get the attention of the mass media, how to exert influence on the quality of a newspaper article, radio or film, and how to communicate what is really important. It provides an overview of public and media relations and tries to give some helpful suggestions.
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Book Review: V. Oliveira Jorge and J. Thomas, eds, Overcoming the Modern Invention of Material Culture. (Porto: ADECAP, Journal of Iberian Archaeology 9[10], 2006--2007, Special Issue)
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Communication Within Archaeology: Do We Understand Each Other?
Academic discourse has its own norms related to the national culture, but also to the academic community concerned. In a linguistic classification, discourse communities are being formed with their own conventions and their own academic languages, rhetoric and intellectual styles, sharing paradigms, goals and methods. A positive aspect of discourse communities is that they spread across different national languages and across different — mainstream and minor — communities (using the language of the leading group of researchers). Can this be seen in present-day archaeology, and can it bridge the gap in communication between mainstreams and minorities?
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Book Review: John R. Stewart, An Evolutionary Study of some Archaeologically Significant Avian Taxa in the Quaternary of the Western Palaearctic. (Oxford: Archaeopress [British Archaeological Reports S1653], 2007, xix+272 pp., 217 figures, 108 tables, pbk, ISBN 978 140 730089 4) Erika Gal, Fowling in Lowlands. Neolithic and Chalcolithic Bird Exploitation in South-East Romania and the Great Hungarian Plain. (Budapest: Archaeolingua [Series Minor 24], 2007, 149 pp., 14 figures, 5 maps in colour, 12 tables, 2 photographic plates, pbk, ISBN 978 963 8046 85 7)
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Review: Conference Review: IXth Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Globalization, Identity, Material Culture ... and Archaeology, Aarhus, Denmark, 10--12 May 2007
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Book Review: Helle Vandkilde, Culture and Change in Central European Prehistory, 6th to 1st Millennium BC. (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2007, 215 pp., pbk, ISBN 978 87 7934 245 3)
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Review: Site Presentation Review
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Book Review: Oliver Dickinson, The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age. Continuity and Change between the Twelfth and Eighth Centuries B.C. (London: Routledge, 2006, xvi + 298 pp., hbk, ISBN 0 415 13589 3)
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Book Review: Heather Burke and Claire Smith, Archaeology to Delight and Instruct: Active Learning in the University Classroom. (One World Archaeology Series. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2007, 288 pp., b/w figs, pbk, ISBN 978 1 59874 257 2)
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Book Review: D.L. Peterson, L.M. Popova and A.T. Smith, Beyond the Steppe and the Sown: Proceedings of the 2002 University of Chicago Conference on Eurasian Archaeology. (Leiden: Brill [Colloquia Pontica 13], 2006, 509 pp., hbk, ISBN 10: 90 04 14610 5)
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