Circling Back to the Start: The Publishing of Archaeological Knowledge from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Non-Local Languages

This study examines how language choices in archaeological publications on Bosnia and Herzegovina shaped domestic accessibility from the Austro- Hungarian period to the present. A combination of a bibliographic survey of journals and monographs curriculum-based estimates of foreign-language competence was used to approximate the readership. Historically, we expect a German bias during Austro-Hungarian occupation, while for the modern period we remain neutral aside from a possible tilt toward English. Early archaeological finds, like the 1880 Glasinac chariot report, appeared in German and were not republished locally. During the Austro-Hungarian occupation, parallel local and non-local editions expanded access, while after World War I, works shifted to local languages with German or French summaries. Since the early 2000s, some international teams published site reports in foreign languages, mainly German, or as verbatim translations from foreign originals, reviving earlier patterns. Based on official statistics of first languages taught in schools today, only about 40% of pupils could read post-2000s results as published, thus striking a question - for whom are these reports even published?