History of the journal

Archeologia Polski was founded in 1957 as a journal of the Institute of History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences (est. 1953; since 1992 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAS). It has been published continuously for 67 years.
AIMS and SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
The journal’s aims and scientific programme had been formulated by its founders and were declared in the editorial opening the first volume of Archeologia Polski (1:1957). It was stressed that “the journal [should be] a problem periodical for archaeologists exploring the past of our country”, in which “papers presenting a specific material will also be published, but the special attention will be given to the critical discussion and debates’ sections. There will also be printed pieces on history of archaeology”. As some of the journal’s main tasks, the endeavour to show “possibilities provided to archaeologists by the rapid advancement in natural and technical sciences” and “the pursuit of the high standard of reviews and debates as well as proper forms of academic critique, with as few subjective elements as possible” were indicated. The chronological scope was to cover times from the prehistory to the late Middle Ages. These main stipulations formed the bases of editorial policy from the journal’s foundation to this day.
SECTIONS
The most important and the most substantial works has been published in the section called initially “Studies and reports” (vol. 1:1957 and vol. 2:1958), later renamed as “Studies and materials” (starting with the vol. 3:1959) and finally “Studies” (beginning with the vol. 19:1974). The section “Methods and methodology” was introduced in the 1960s (vol. 9:1964). With the methodological problems becoming widely discussed also in other periodicals and publications, the segment gradually diminished. However, it has remained the important part of the journal. From the foundation of Archeologia Polski, the integral part of the publication are the sections dedicated to scientific critique, comprising discussions, debates, polemics as well as comprehensive reviews (of both local and foreign publications) and the chronicle. With time, the section “Occasional articles” was created for texts celebrating distinguished academicals. All sections are not always covered in each volume. The journal’s formula evolved in time, with changes not only to its structure, but also to its circulation and size.
IMPACT and INFLUENCE
Archeologia Polski had become an important platform of exchange and popularisation of knowledge for the whole Polish academic world. The editors often initiated studies on rarely explored subjects and problems. Innovative papers, some being breakthroughs in the field and often relevant to this day, shaped the pioneering and influential status of the journal, which became one of the main Polish periodicals dedicated to such a wide chronological and thematic scope of archaeological problems.
EDITORIAL TEAM
The described programme has been realised by the Editorial Team, members of which which changed from decade to decade. The editors-in-chief shaped the editorial policy and publication strategy, impacting the status of journal.
Editors of the journal:
1957-1976 – Prof. Zdzisław Rajewski
1976-1978 – Prof. Jan Kowalczyk
1980-1999 – Prof. Zbigniew Bukowski
2000-2023 – Prof. Maria Dekówna
VOLUMES
In the first year, 1957, a single issue constituting the whole volume was published. Between 1958 and 1992 (vol. 2-35), the journal was semi-annual, ie., there were two separate issues per volume. Since 1992, due to financial difficulties, the issues were gradually shortened and printed together (marked as 1-2). Currently one volume (not divided to issues; beginning with the vol. 61:2016) is published annually. In spite of the objective limitations, the editors have upheld the journal’s programme as well as the highest standards of publication.
De minimis PROJECT
In 2019-2020, the Editorial Team carried out the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s project “Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych 2019-2020” (known as de minimis). The publication of the volumes 64:2019 and 65:2020 was co-financed from the ministerial grant. Thanks to that, in both years the articles were published bilingually (full text in Polish and English). Additionally, a modern webpage was created, based on an OJS platform (https://journals.iaepan.pl/apol); an anti-plagiarism software was introduced to enhance the originality control; and some other editorial procedures and policies were also adopted.
JOURNAL’s REACH
From the beginning, the journal has had a wide reach, both in Poland (being subscribed by multiple academic institutions, national and regional museums etc.) and abroad (especially in Central and Eastern Europe). For many years, the printed, paper version was the main medium of circulation. Recently, the introduction of extensive summaries in other languages, abstracts and key-words, indexation in scientific databases (especially international – Scopus and DOAJ; and local – Index Copernicus) as well as the digital edition published on the OJS platform, in the open access on the international CC-BY 4.0. licence created a chance for much greater circulation of the journal in the global academic network. Thanks to that, all the texts and materials are instantly accessible as soon as each volume is ready. As a result, Archeologia Polski has been strengthening its position among the archaeological periodicals.

The history of the journal was prepared based on the article:
Dekówna M., Purowski T. 2005, Od Redakcji, „Archeologia Polski”, 50(1-2), s. 7-20.

Journal’s covers 1957-2023