The Matthew Effect in Archaeology: Discovery, the Transmission of Knowledge, and Credit

Summary

Although the Matthew Effect was originally used by sociologist Robert K. Merton for the disproportionate credit given to eminent scientists in cases of collaboration or independent discoveries within a professional discipline, it also is appropriate to apply it to situations where professionals take away or gain credit for work done by amateurs. Examples of such an effect are provided with an examination of the more general issue of how knowledge of discoveries is transmitted in archaeology and how outsiders are usually at a strong disadvantage over insiders in making their research known and in receiving credit for important contributions. This effect is further reinforced when it carries over into histories of archaeology that take the research activities of professionals to be their primary basis, leaving recognition of the important contributions of amateurs under- or unrepresented.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Collaborations and Competition between Professionals and Nonprofessionals in the Production of Archaeological Knowledge in the Americas

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