This is the first entire collection of papers published by a journal that takes a multi-regional look at the history of archaeology in the Asia Pacific.

The research presented here spans different areas of enquiry originally examined at the 2017 Australian Archaeological Association conference, where, for the first time in nearly 40 years of this annual event, the history of archaeology was considered by three sessions: History of Archaeology in South Asia (by Bishnupriya Basak, University of Calcutta and Supriya Varma, Jawaharlal Nehru University), The History of Rock Art Research on Australia and Beyond (by Jamie Hampson and Jo McDonald, The University of Western Australia, with Jordan Ralph, Flinders University) and In Search of Connections: The History of Ideas on Australia’s Links with the Indo-Pacific Region (and Beyond) (by Michelle Richards, Andrea Ballesteros Danel, Eve Haddow and Emilie Dotte-Sarout, CBAP, Australian National University).

We aimed at marking this historic moment through the present special collection: beyond the multi-regional and diverse thematic aspect, the interconnections between the analyses presented here is remarkable and important for understanding the local histories of archaeology as well as the regional and colonial networks at play in the Asia Pacific and how they fit into the historic trends of world archaeology.

Part of this special collection has been made possible by a publication award from the Scouloudi Foundation in association with the Institute of Historical Research (University of London).

Associated figure: detail from ‘Carte de l'Océanie contenant l'Australie, la Polynésie et les îles asiatiques’, by Raynaud géographe, 1840 (gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France)