Balter wrote for Science for over 25 years,[4] primarily covering anthropology and archaeology.[8] He was the chief of its Paris bureau between 1993 and 2002.[8] His contract with Science was terminated in 2016, shortly after he wrote a piece about allegations of sexual misconduct against American anthropologist Brian Richmond.[4][5] Balter claimed that his dismissal was in reaction to this piece,[4][5] which was the subject of what he described as a "tense, sometimes bruising behind-the-scenes conflict with [Science's] editors".[12] He also highlighted previous conflicts with the magazine, including a leave of absence he took in protest of its firing of four women, and a blog post he wrote that was critical of Marcia McNutt, its then editor-in-chief.[5] The American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science, denied that the Richmond piece was a factor in its decision to terminate Balter's freelance contract with the magazine.[4][5][13]
The Goddess and the Bull
The Goddess and the Bull: Çatalhöyük – An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization
Balter's book The Goddess and the Bull: Çatalhöyük – An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization was published in 2006. It is a "biographical" account of Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic archaeological site in Turkey, and its history of investigation: the discovery and first excavations at the site by James Mellaart in the 1960s, and the project directed by Ian Hodder that was ongoing at the time the book was written.[14] The book received positive reviews in both popular magazines[14][15] and academic journals.[16][17][18]
In 2019, he wrote about allegations of misconduct by French paleoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin, leading to a boycott of the annual conference of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution, of which Hublin is the president.[20] In 2020, he was sued for defamation by UC Santa Barbara anthropologist Danielle Kurin, after Balter reported allegations of sexual harassment against her and her partner, Enmanuel Gomez Choque.[9]
Balter was ejected from the 2019 meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) after he attempted to remove David Yesner, a former archaeology professor who had been dismissed from the University of Alaska Anchorage for "decades of sexual misconduct",[21] from the conference venue.[22][23][24] Balter had traveled to the meeting to appear on a panel on the Me Too movement in archaeology.[22][23] The SAA was strongly criticized for its handling of the incident.[25][26]
National Association of Science Writers Resignation
Balter resigned from the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) in April 2021, following a misconduct complaint submitted against him by eleven other members of the organization.[27] He had been a member of the NASW since 1986.[28][29] Following his resignation, he claimed that the due process of the NASW's investigation had been compromised and he denied the misconduct charges against him.[30][31]
Selected publications
Balter, Michael (2005). The Goddess and the Bull: Çatalhöyük – An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization. New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN978-0-7432-4360-5.
^Schulting, Rick (2007). "Review of The Goddess and the Bull; Çatalhöyük: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization". Canadian Journal of Archaeology. 31 (2): 280–283. ISSN0705-2006. JSTOR41103311.