This quote, from my father-in-law (biologist James E. Heath), points out the importance of publishing for scientific disciplines like archaeology. Although most archaeologists do publish their data and interpretations, the quality, extent, and availability of published archaeology are all much lower than they should be. I have a good deal of experience in publishing archaeology and I have strong feelings on the subject. I plan to use this blog to express some of my thoughts on issues such as open access, peer review, site reports, editing, internet datafiles, book reviews, published graphics, and the like.
My first post will probably be on open access publishing. Doesn't is seem strange that, "In no other industry does one produce material of great value, give it to others, and allow them to sell it back to the community that created it and at a high price." (Fisher citing Bergstrom; details to follow). Why aren't there more open access journals in archaeology?
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