‘Up to you … and your facile pens’: 50 years of Australian Archaeology

In November 1974, the first issue of the Australian Archaeological Association Newsletter was produced, with Ron Lampert as editor. In his editorial, Lampert indicated that the Association’s aim for the Newsletter would be to provide ‘a wide, if superficial, coverage of all branches of Australian archaeology—historical, marine [sic], prehistoric [sic], industrial, etc.’

To facilitate this lofty goal, Lampert planned to structure the Newsletter to have any articles or short reports from members in the first issue each year, but to print only solicited papers in the second issue of the year:

I shall ask a member from each region, or major institution, or sector of archaeological interest, to act as correspondent and furnish a summary of research news central to his [sic] interest during the previous 12 months … By this means all members will be able to view the panorama of Australian archaeology each year.

Whether such an approach would produce a Newsletter that would be ‘the first of the few’, or ‘the first of the many’, only time would tell, Lampert observed, and would be ‘largely up to you, the members, and your facile pens’.

We all know now, of course, that the Newsletter evolved into a journal and eventually became the premier journal for the local publication of Australian archaeological research. Fifty years on, the Australian Archaeology journal publishes three issues a year, with each issue containing rigorously peer-reviewed papers, edited to a high standard, produced in full colour, and available as Open Access when authors are members of institutions with an agreement with our publishing house, Taylor and Francis. We also usually produce three to five book reviews in each issue. The journal is ranked in the first quartile of the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), and has occupied this place for the past 12 years. In the SJR Archaeology (arts and humanities) ranking, Australian Archaeology (AA) is now placed 44th out of 369 similar journals worldwide. The rejection rate for articles submitted to the journal has risen to 29%, reflecting the Editorial Team’s focus on publishing quality over quantity in the journal. This is a far cry from the early issues of the publication which were dominated by short research reports and fieldwork updates.

But in many ways, Lampert’s vision for the Newsletter has been attained. The publication did not peter out. Papers continue to range across the full spectrum of archaeological investigation and in many ways the journal today looks a lot like a more mature and professional version of the first couple of issues of the Newsletter.

The first issue comprised:

• A list of all (70) Association members (including contact details and research interests);

• The draft program for the upcoming ANZAAS Congress;

• Two short reports on the state of research: one by Jeremy Green and Graeme Henderson focusing on maritime archaeology at the Western Australian Museum, and the other by Isabel McBryde reflecting on prehistoric (sic) archaeology across Australia; and

• A long overview paper by Peter White summarising the current state of knowledge regarding Aboriginal Australia, from the remote past to the ethnographic present.

The second issue of the Newsletter—already branded Australian Archaeology—is more interesting to analyse. It contains seven critical review papers from the AAA Forum held at the 46th ANZAAS Congress: The State, People and Archaeologists, as well as a site report on an archaeological survey on Montague Island (south coast of New South Wales) by Marjorie Sullivan, a report on waisted blades from Kangaroo Island by Ron Lampert, and research updates from James Cook University (Helen Brayshaw), ANU (Rhys Jones) and from ANU’s radiocarbon laboratory (Rhys Jones and Henry Polach). But it is the papers from the ANZAAS Forum that are most interesting as a basis for reflection. Table 1 summarises the papers from the Forum.

Table 1. Papers in the Australian Archaeological Association Newsletter for April 1975, based on material presented at the AAA Forum held at the 46th ANZAAS Congress in December 1974.

Author	Affiliation	Summary of Content
Jack Golson	Archaeologist, ANU	The place of archaeology in a changing society and the need to move the discipline away from ‘the colonialism of the present century’.
David Moore Eugene Stockton	Curator, TAM Amateur archaeologist and priest	Each discussed the tensions between archaeologists and Aboriginal custodians and called for greater dialogue between practitioners and Aboriginal peoples.
Ray Kelly	Aboriginal Sites Officer, NPWS	Called for recognition of Aboriginal ways of knowing in the education system generally, and in archaeology [and anthropology] specifically.
Howard Creamer	Anthropologist, NPWS	Extolled the value of working with Aboriginal people when documenting living heritage and connections to the past.
Sharon Sullivan	Heritage manager, NPWS	Discussed the differences between research and heritage protection, and between interests of archaeologists and the Aboriginal community, calling for more cooperation between stakeholders.
Peter Coutts	AAR	Provided a summary of research work and heritage projects undertaken by the AAR.

ANU = Australian National University; TAM = The Australian Museum; NPWS = NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service; AAR = Victoria Archaeological and Aboriginal Relics Office

These seven papers cover topics that have been germane to Indigenous archaeological research in Australia for the past 50 years. They cover debates about who should be undertaking research, approaches to interpreting the past, the colonial context of research, the place of heritage investigation, and so forth. And it is most interesting that in just the second issue of the Newsletter there is a paper by an Aboriginal person (Ray Kelly) reflecting on his connections to heritage and its management.

Papers by Aboriginal authors were not common in the early years of AA, although in Issue 3 Sandra Onus (National Aboriginal Consultative Committee) wrote a reflection on Kelly’s paper in the previous issue, and in Issue 10, Pat Torres (Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre) reflected on the first AAA conference at Kioloa in April 1979 and reiterated calls for greater collaboration between archaeologists and Aboriginal people (a call echoed by Ros Langford in 1983 in AA Issue 16).

In Issue 3, reviews of historical and maritime archaeology were added to the previous focus on ‘prehistoric’ archaeology in Issue 2, and Issue 3 also contains a long site report and a critical evaluation of new computer-based technological advances in archaeology.

Over time the range of papers in the Newsletter broadened and by Issue 11, in 1980, the journal had been born. No longer a Newsletter, and already branded with the now familiar AAA logo, the editor (still Ron Lampert) made the point that ‘it is clear that this journal is expanding rapidly, both in volume and quality’ and set out the new instructions to authors that would be needed to ensure the journal’s quality improved.

Today the aim of the journal is to publish papers from a range of perspectives and across all aspects of the discipline, and the Editors have a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in the content published in the journal—actively working with Indigenous authors, early career researchers and students, and senior academics alike to submit their original research to the journal.

This special issue celebrates 50 years of Australian archaeology. In keeping with our principle of publishing widely across the discipline, we have invited contributions from across the spectrum of archaeology, from senior to early career practitioners, aiming to balance gender contributions, encouraging papers by Indigenous authors and practitioners from non-European backgrounds, and providing some geographical diversity. Each of the invited Voices was asked to reflect on the past and future of archaeology in Australia from their unique individual perspective, rather than on the journal per se. We have kept this journal reflection for ourselves.

The range of reflections we have received is impressive. There are papers on Indigenous engagement (Asmussen, Dortch, Garvey and Blake, Spry and Wesley) and community-led research (Monks, Smith and Urwin); using Indigenous approaches to knowledge to frame research (Brady, Connolly, Grist, McNiven and Williams); meeting the challenges of colonialism (Marshall, Pollard and Weisse); teaching archaeology (Stannard); dealing with the technical aspects of doing archaeology (Gorman, Ditchfield, Huntley, Langley, Law, Litster and Wood) and cultural heritage management (Ireland, Kurpiel, Lim, McDonald, Roberts and Woolford, and Slack); reviewing archaeology beyond Australia (Faulkner, Flexner and Kariwiga) and reflecting on the growth of the journal itself (this reflection). There are many reflections on Indigenous archaeology, but also contributions on maritime and submerged archaeology (Benjamin, Kahn, McAllister and Wiseman); historical archaeology (Feakins and Paterson); theoretical approaches to archaeology (Lourandos, Meskell and Veth); and personal reflections on archaeology’s past and future (Balme, Brown, Hall, Meehan, Robins, Spriggs and Way).

The journal has come a long way since that first issue in November 1974; it still aims to provide publication opportunities to researchers across the full spectrum of archaeological discourse but it still requires you, dear readers, and ‘your facile pens’ to ensure it continues to be viable.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.