Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Online ordering will be unavailable from 07:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT on Sunday, June 15.

To place an order, please contact Customer Services.

UK/ROW directcs@cambridge.org +44 (0) 1223 326050 | US customer_service@cambridge.org 1 800 872 7423 or 1 212 337 5000 | Australia/New Zealand enquiries@cambridge.edu.au 61 3 86711400 or 1800 005 210, New Zealand 0800 023 520

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Writing about Archaeology

Writing about Archaeology

Writing about Archaeology

Graham Connah , Australian National University, Canberra
May 2010
Available
Paperback
9780521688512

Looking for an inspection copy?

This title is not currently available for inspection.

    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.

    • An emphasis on the importance of literary skills for archaeologists, particularly useful for beginning archaeological authors
    • A personal perspective based on many years of practical experience
    • A detailed examination of all aspects of the archaeological writing process

    Product details

    May 2010
    Hardback
    9780521868501
    224 pages
    223 × 146 × 19 mm
    0.43kg
    31 b/w illus. 3 maps
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 1. Creating the canon: the integral role of writing in archaeology
    • 2. Learning from others: archaeological writers past and present
    • 3. Readership determines form: for whom are we writing?
    • 4. Turning data into text: images of the past
    • 5. The process of writing:
    • 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration
    • 6. Visual explanation: pictures that should talk
    • 7. Pleasing everyone: writing for different types of publication
    • 8. Publishers, editors and referees: devils incarnate or guardian angels?
    • 9. The publication process: creating a quality product
    • 10. The aftermath: reviewers and readers.
      Author
    • Graham Connah , Australian National University, Canberra

      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.