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Introduction

The South African Archaeological Bulletin is an internationally accredited journal (ISI & IBSS listed) that publishes original peer-reviewed research articles, field and technical reports, discussion forum contributions and book reviews on all aspects of African archaeology. The Bulletin is issued twice a year, in June and December.

 

The Bulletin was established in December 1945 with the aim of informing a wide audience about important new research findings on all aspects of African archaeology. A founding principle was that the Bulletin should balance academic excellence with a ‘fight against embroiled and over-complicated jargon’. This it has done for more than sixty five years and this longstanding commitment to public archaeology has made the Bulletin one of the best subscribed journals in the archaeological world. Today our commitment to social relevance extends beyond the way that archaeology is written: the Bulletin strives to raise the profile of African archaeological research and to demonstrate the key importance of archaeology within post-colonial Africa. 

 

History

Professor John Goodwin started the South African Archaeological Bulletin (SAAB) in 1945 and was the editor of, and a major contributor to the bulletin until his death in 1959.

 

Management of ArchSoc and editorship of the bulletin during the 1960s and early 1970s was in the capable hands of several volunteers, including Jalmar and Ione Rudner, Dr Toddy Schrire, Professor Ray Inskeep, Professor Ronald Singer and Frank Schweitzer.

 

In 1976, Janette Deacon, based at the University of Stellenbosch, was appointed editor, a position she held until 1994. During this period major changes took place; with the introduction of personal computers and desktop publishing, it was possible for the editor to do much of the work previously done by the journal’s printers.

 

Judith Sealy took over from Deacon in 1994, serving as editor until 1997. She acquired the skills to set up page proofs from digital copies submitted by authors. This process was refined by Mary Leslie, who was at the helm from 1998 to 2001, and then by Margaret Avery, from 2001 to 2005.

 

In 2005, the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA) was contracted to manage the production of the SAAB. ASAPA established an editorial committee, which shares the workload and delivers edited copy to the printers for page proofs. ASAPA editors have since redesigned the cover and brought new vigour to the journal.