Let's face it: the mainstream press simply doesn't do a good job reporting archaeology news. The only archaeology news reports that make it into the newspaper and on the Internet are about sites that are very old or have lots of gold in them; or those sites that are endangered by the planned development of shopping malls. And most of that information is garbled, anyway. But getting accurate news about archaeology is easy if you know where to look.
Archaeology News Magazines
There are several high-quality, English language archaeology magazines specifically directed to the general public. They are all owned and/or edited by professional archaeologists, and many are organs for long-term, well-respected archaeological societies. As a group, they continue to provide direct, accurate access to the information that's being produced by archaeologists, but in a language you don't have to decode.
If you want something more technical, you should try an academic journal. There are several quite readable journals, such as Antiquity and the American Journal of Archaeology, that include technical reports on sites from all parts of the world, written by archaeologists for the archaeological community.
Electronic Archaeology News
If you would like some rousing discussions about various archaeology topics, you might also consider signing up for an electronic discussion list. There are several on specific subjects, such as AusArch on Australian archaeology and SubArch on underwater archaeology, and there are some more general ones such as Arch-L. These have all been around for several years, and have an established subscriber base of professionals and amateurs both.
An excellent source of news you should consider is the electronic newsletter. There are several good newsletters that send email to your inbox or may be read on line on a daily or weekly basis, such as Explorator, Archaeologica, and Stone Pages.
Most recently, I'm delighted to say I’ve run across several very interesting weblogs in archaeology. From simple news feeds, like Archaeology in Europe; to experiential weblogs, like cwjat and Slow West; to technical blogs like Michael Shanks' blog; weblogs are a very interesting way to keep up on what's going on.
Something for the Kids
There are also several good sources of information directed specifically towards children, particularly pre-teens, the 8 to 12 year olds who are so geared up by the Indiana Jones movies. The best source is Dig, produced by the Archaeology Institute of America, who also produces Archaeology magazine. The other magazines for kids are general science or history magazines like Calliope, Dragonfly, and Muse.
