Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
source
Title	Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
Discipline	Archaeology
Abbreviation	J. Anthropol. Archaeol.
Publisher	Elsevier
Frequency	Quarterly
History	1982–present
Impact	2.5
Impact-year	2023

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology is a peer-reviewed academic periodical that publishes research on prehistoric and historic archaeology from an anthropological perspective, emphasizing human behavior, material culture, and social systems. The journal features empirical studies, theoretical analyses, and methodological innovations that connect fieldwork with broader debates in anthropology and related fields. It serves as a venue for contributions by scholars affiliated with institutions such as University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, and University College London.

History

The journal was established in 1982 amid debates that engaged figures and institutions like Lewis Binford, Ian Hodder, Mortimer Wheeler, British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and National Geographic Society. Early editors and contributors were associated with universities including University of Arizona, University of Michigan, Yale University, University of Chicago, and University of Pennsylvania and scholarly societies such as the Society for American Archaeology, European Association of Archaeologists, Royal Anthropological Institute, Archaeological Institute of America, and American Anthropological Association. The journal’s formative period intersected with conferences like the World Archaeological Congress and debated topics foregrounded at meetings hosted by Institute of Archaeology, London and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Over decades, editorial leadership and special issues have engaged with projects and campaigns at sites and regions overseen by organizations such as Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Australian National University, University of Cape Town, and National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Scope and Content

The journal publishes empirical case studies, synthetic reviews, and methodological papers addressing archaeological records from regions including Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, Mesoamerica, Andes, Sahara, Nile Delta, Levant, Anatolia, British Isles, Scandinavia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Amazon Basin, Great Lakes (North America), Mississippi River, and Patagonia. Articles frequently engage with theoretical traditions and scholars such as Processual archaeology, Post-processual archaeology, Cognitive archaeology, Landscape archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Geoarchaeology, Bioarchaeology, Paleoethnobotany, Lithic analysis, Ceramic analysis, Isotopic analysis, Radiocarbon dating, Dendrochronology, Remote sensing (archaeology), Geographic Information Systems, Stable isotope analysis, and laboratory facilities like British Antarctic Survey and Natural History Museum, London. Contributions also reference major archaeological projects and sites such as Çatalhöyük, Stonehenge, Göbekli Tepe, Machu Picchu, Tikal, Palenque, Teotihuacan, Pompeii, Angkor Wat, Jericho, Skara Brae, Monte Verde, Sutton Hoo, Lascaux, Altamira, Ban Chiang, Joya de Cerén, Caral, Nabta Playa, Clovis (archaeology site), Dolmens of North Kivu, and Olduvai Gorge.

Publication and Editorial Structure

Published by Elsevier on a quarterly basis, the journal employs a peer-review process managed by an editorial board composed of scholars from institutions such as University of Cambridge, Princeton University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Toronto, University of Sydney, Kathmandu University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Copenhagen, Leiden University, Heidelberg University, University of Tokyo, University of Hong Kong, Seoul National University, and Peking University. The board includes specialists in areas represented by prominent awards and agencies like the Balzan Prize, British Academy, National Science Foundation (United States), European Research Council, Australian Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Editorial workflows coordinate submission, anonymized peer review, revision, and production with indexing partners including Scopus and Web of Science. Special issues have been guest-edited in collaboration with centers such as Smithsonian Institution, Getty Conservation Institute, Max Planck Society, and regional museums like Museo Nacional de Antropología (Mexico City).

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in major services and databases including Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, AnthroSource, CrossRef, Google Scholar, DOAJ, WorldCat, PubMed Central (for relevant interdisciplinary content), and library catalogs at institutions such as British Library, Library of Congress, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, National Diet Library, and National Library of China. Coverage in citation indices has facilitated discoverability across research networks linked to funders like the Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation, and governmental research councils.

Impact and Reception

The journal’s impact has been assessed through citation metrics tracked by Journal Citation Reports, Scimago Journal Rank, and Google Scholar Metrics, and it is cited in monographs and edited volumes published by presses such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, University of California Press, MIT Press, Springer, and Palgrave Macmillan. Reviews and historiographic essays in venues like Antiquity (journal), American Antiquity, World Archaeology, Current Anthropology, and Journal of Field Archaeology have discussed the journal’s role in debates prompted by scholars and cases involving Marija Gimbutas, Jared Diamond, David Lewis-Williams, Kathleen Kenyon, V. Gordon Childe, Gordon Willey, Alfred Kidder, Julian Steward, Franz Boas, Lewis Henry Morgan, and Bronisław Malinowski. The publication has influenced heritage policy discussions involving institutions like UNESCO and national agencies including Historic England and ICOMOS, and its articles inform museum exhibitions at institutions such as British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Louvre. Category:Archaeology journals