American Antiquity

American Antiquity
Title	American Antiquity
Discipline	Archaeology
Abbreviation	Am. Antiq.
Publisher	Society for American Archaeology
Country	United States
History	1935–present
Frequency	Quarterly
Issn	0002-7316

American Antiquity American Antiquity is a quarterly peer‑reviewed journal published by the Society for American Archaeology focused on prehistoric and historic archaeology of the Americas. The journal publishes original research articles, syntheses, methodological papers, and book reviews that address archaeological theory and practice across regions such as Mesoamerica, the Caribbean, Andean civilizations, Mississippian culture areas, and the Pacific Northwest. Its editorial board has included scholars associated with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, the University of California, Berkeley, the Museum of Natural History, New York, and the Field Museum.

Overview

American Antiquity serves as a principal venue for archaeological scholarship relating to Native American, Mesoamerican and South American prehistory and early historic periods. The journal regularly features research connected to projects at sites such as Cahokia, Chaco Canyon, Monte Albán, Copán, and Tiwanaku, and discussions tied to programs at universities including Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, University of Arizona, and Yale University. As an organ of the Society for American Archaeology, it intersects with professional standards promulgated by bodies like the Archaeological Institute of America.

History and Development

Founded in 1935, the journal emerged amid growing institutionalization of archaeology in the United States during the interwar period, when figures connected to the Smithsonian Institution and the Bureau of American Ethnology sought specialized publication outlets. Early contributors included scholars with ties to the Peabody Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Carnegie Institution for Science. Over decades the journal reflected shifts from culture‑history paradigms associated with researchers such as Alfred V. Kidder and Gordon Willey to processualism exemplified by proponents connected to University of Chicago programs, and later post‑processual critiques advanced by scholars linked to Cambridge University and University College London exchanges. Editorial transitions paralleled technological innovations (e.g., radiocarbon dating from Willard Libby’s work) and regulatory frameworks such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Key Topics and Themes

Recurring themes include settlement pattern analysis at sites like Mesa Verde, subsistence and paleoenvironmental reconstructions referencing Pleistocene and Holocene contexts, craft production studies associated with Moche and Mississippian assemblages, and social complexity models applied to centers such as Teotihuacan and Pukara. Articles often address chronology using methods developed alongside labs at Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Columbia University. Other prominent topics encompass trade and exchange networks tied to commodities like turquoise documented from Chaco Canyon and obsidian provenance studies linked to volcanic sources in Guatemala and Mexico.

Methodologies and Research Practices

Methodological contributions cover survey design influenced by regional projects such as the Poverty Point investigations, excavation strategies utilized at stratified sites like Monte Verde, and analytical techniques including stable isotope analysis pioneered in laboratories at Oxford University, dendrochronology associated with work by Andrew E. Douglass, and aDNA studies comparable to research emerging from Harvard Medical School collaborations. The journal has published on quantitative approaches originating from scholars connected to University of Michigan and Brown University, GIS applications developed with software at Esri partners, and ethical protocols responding to guidelines from the National Park Service and tribal authorities such as the Ho-Chunk Nation and Navajo Nation.

Major Finds and Case Studies

Notable case studies featured involve reevaluation of early occupation sequences at Cactus Hill, new interpretations of mortuary data from Moundville, and reassessments of long‑distance interaction based on exotic artifacts recovered at Hopewell sites. The journal has highlighted revisions to peopling hypotheses prompted by data from Paisley Caves and Bluefish Caves, and detailed material culture analyses from urban centers including Palenque and Cuzco. Interdisciplinary reports have showcased collaborations with institutions such as the Natural History Museum, London, the Royal Ontario Museum, and national laboratories like Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Criticism and Debates

American Antiquity has been a forum for debates over theoretical orientations—culture‑historical versus processual versus post‑processual—as well as methodological questions regarding chronometric resolution, sampling bias in surveys such as those in the Great Plains, and the incorporation of indigenous perspectives following policy shifts exemplified by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Scholars affiliated with universities including University of Texas at Austin, University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign, and University of Colorado Boulder have critiqued earlier classificatory schemes and argued for decolonizing practices reflecting work by tribal partners like the Pueblo of Zuni and Ojibwe communities.

Influence and Legacy

The journal has shaped curricular materials at departments such as University of California, Los Angeles and University of Michigan, influenced cultural resource management protocols used by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, and informed public archaeology initiatives at sites operated by the National Park Service including Mesa Verde National Park and Pecos National Historical Park. Its legacy includes advancing interdisciplinary collaborations with paleoclimatologists at NOAA, geneticists at Broad Institute, and conservation scientists at the Getty Conservation Institute, and fostering generations of archaeologists trained at institutions such as Ohio State University and University of New Mexico.

Category:Archaeology journals