In the wake of Hawaiʻi Archaeology Week (September 26–October 2), the University of Hawaiʻi Press joins two non-profit organizations to launch the Journal of Polynesian Archaeology and Research, an open-access title that will soon accept submissions for its inaugural issue.
The new journal will be co-edited by Mara Mulrooney and Jillian Swift, who are both affiliate graduate faculty at UH Mānoa. The two editors developed the publication as a forum to bring together important research and conversations around archaeology, history and heritage management in Polynesia. The editorial board is comprised of UH faculty including Professors Patrick V. Kirch (anthropology, UH Mānoa), Ty P. Kawika Tengan (ethnic studies, UH Mānoa), Seth Quintus (anthropology, UH Mānoa) and Peter Mills (anthropology, UH Hilo), among others.
“The Journal of Polynesian Archaeology and Research will continue the tradition of publishing cutting-edge results of archaeological research in Hawaiʻi and throughout Polynesia, as well as providing a forum for discussion and debate regarding archaeological practice in the region,” noted Kirch. “I expect that the journal will be an essential resource for both scholars and the engaged public.”
Free and open access
For more than three decades, both of the journal’s sponsoring organizations—the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology and the Easter Island Foundation—have been committed to promoting research and dialogue on the archaeology of Polynesia. While distribution of previous publications were limited to members, this new journal will be published open-access and freely available to all readers.
This fall, the editors will review manuscripts through the journal submission system (forthcoming) and publish the first issue in 2023 on eVols, UH’s open-access, digital institutional repository for both the university community and researchers around the world.
The Journal of Polynesian Archaeology and Research will replace two journals that will cease publication, Hawaiian Archaeology (published by the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology) and Rapa Nui Journal (published by UH Press in collaboration with the Easter Island Foundation). Throughout the past 30 years, Rapa Nui Journal published more than 33 volumes, and Hawaiian Archaeology published 15 volumes and four special publications. The archive of both publications will also be freely available via eVols.
