Most Popular Methodologies/Sources of Data: 

  • Ethnographic/Ethnohistoric (14)
  • Zooarchaeology (9)
  • Ceramic Analysis (8)
  • Lithic Analysis (7)
  • Architectural Analysis (7)
  • Mapping (6)
  • Geochemical Analysis; Includes Radiocarbon Dating, Isotopic Analysis (5)
  • Style/Design Analysis (4)
  • Experimental Data (4)

Obviously, the most frequent source of data comes from ethnographic and ethnohistoric observations.  Analyses of artifacts (i.e. ceramics, lithics, worked bone) and ecofacts (i.e. faunal remains) commonly preserved in the archaeological record are the second through fourth most common sources of data presented in articles from 1997.  Architectural analyses examined both residential and ritual structures, while mapping methodologies tended to forcus on spatial patterning (both within and between sites) and site distribution on the landscape.

 

 

Major Themes:

  • Prehistoric Archaeology (11)
  • Social Organization (7)
  • Trade/Exchange (7)
  • Ritual/Ideology/Religion (7)
  • Statistics/Analytical (7)
  • Hunter-Gatherers (6)
  • Subsistence (6)
  • Site Formation Processes (6)
  • Methodological (4)
  • Social/Ethnic Interaction (4)
  • Spatial Distribution (4)

Prehistoric archaeology (vs. historical, tribal, contact period, etc) dominated the literature.  As seen above, a range of topics were addressed throughout the three journals at relatively similar frequencies.

 

 

General Theory:

  • Processual (15)
  • Post-Processual (10)
  • Processual / Post-Processual (9)
  • Ethics (1)

Articles addressing site formation processes and ecological constraints, as well as theoretical approaches in Behavioral Archaeology, contributed to the relatively high number of Processual articles in 1997.  Post-processual articles focused mainly on topics such as ritual and ideology and gender.  Additionally, a significant number of articles used approaches from both Processualism and Post-processualism.   One article addressed the role of ethics in archaeology, outlining the revised ethical guidelines of the Society for American Archaeology.

 

 

Region:

  •  North America (10)
  • Europe (8)
  • Africa, Including Egypt (5)
  • Australia/Papua New Guinea (3)
  • Asia (2)
  • Arctic (2)

The majority of the North American fieldwork occurred in the Southwest; single articles focused on fieldwork from the Northwest Plataeu region, the Midwest, and the Southeast.  Archaeological fieldwork in Europe and Africa was evenly distributed, with no one smaller region dominating the research focus.

 

 

 Lead Authors (Gender):

  • Male (23)
  • Female (10)
  • Indeterminate (4)

Articles in 1997 were two times more likely to have a male lead author than a female lead author.  Although males still dominated professional archaeology in 1997, the ratio was much improved from that of 1983, when articles were four times as likely to have been authored by a male.

 

 

Most Productive Institutions:

  • Arizona State University (4)
  • University of Missouri (3)
  • SUNY (at Albany, 2; at Stony Brook, 1)
  • Cultural Preservation Office, The Hopi Tribe (2)
  • Emergent Media, Inc (2)
  • Heritage Resource Management Consultants, Tucson, AZ (2)
  • Simon Fraser University (2)
  • University of Minnesota (2)
  • University of Pennsylvania (2)
  • University of Southampton (2)
  • University of Washington (2)