Journal of Anthropological Research

Journal of Anthropological Research
Title	Journal of Anthropological Research
Abbreviation	JAR
Discipline	Anthropology
Publisher	University of Chicago Press
Country	United States
History	1937–present
Frequency	Quarterly
Issn	0021-8715
Eissn	2153-3806

Contents

Journal of Anthropological Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing empirical and theoretical studies in anthropology and related fields. Established in 1937, the journal has appeared through major events such as the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War, and has engaged contributors associated with institutions like the University of New Mexico, University of Chicago, Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, and Max Planck Society. Its editorial history intersects with figures and institutions linked to the National Science Foundation, the American Anthropological Association, the Social Science Research Council, the Royal Anthropological Institute, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

History

The journal was founded in 1937 amid intellectual milieus that included scholars from the University of New Mexico, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the Field Museum of Natural History, and operated during crises such as World War II and the Korean War when academic publishing networks shifted toward centers like the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley. Over decades editorial stewardship changed hands among scholars associated with the American Anthropological Association, the Royal Anthropological Institute, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Research Council, and the journal reflected debates paralleling events like the Cuban Revolution, the Vietnam War, and the development of policy frameworks in institutions such as the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation. In the late 20th century its pages featured work connected to field sites referenced in studies tied to the Maya ruins of Tikal, the Andes, the Sahara, the Amazon River basin, and the Bering Strait, while contributors included scholars affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, the British Museum, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

The journal publishes research spanning ethnography, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology with studies situating data from locales such as Mesoamerica, the Andes, the Pacific Islands, the Great Plains (North America), and the Sahel. Articles often engage theoretical frameworks developed in conversation with work by scholars affiliated with institutions like Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University of California, Los Angeles. The content includes original research, methodological advancements, and synthesis essays that dialogue with literature exemplified by texts from the American Anthropological Association, comparative projects linked to the Human Relations Area Files, and collaborative initiatives such as those sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the European Research Council. Special issues have focused on themes connected to the Neolithic Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, diasporas tied to the Atlantic Slave Trade, and climate-related transformations evident in research on the Holocene and the Pleistocene.

The journal is indexed in bibliographic and citation databases that serve interdisciplinary readerships, aligning with services used by libraries at institutions such as the Library of Congress, the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the National Diet Library, and major university systems including University of California, University of Michigan, and University of Toronto. Abstracting coverage overlaps with databases maintained by organizations like Clarivate Analytics, Scopus, and consortiums involving the Digital Public Library of America and the HathiTrust Digital Library, facilitating discovery by researchers connected to centers such as the Max Planck Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and the American Anthropological Association.

Over its run the journal has published influential articles cited alongside works by scholars at Harvard University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley, contributing to debates on topics connected to the Neolithic Revolution, the Peopling of the Americas, the archaeology of Chaco Canyon, ethnographies from Amazon River basin communities, and bioarchaeological research from the Andes. Individual pieces have been referenced in monographs and edited volumes issued by presses such as University of Chicago Press, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and MIT Press, and have informed museum exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History as well as policy discussions in agencies like the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The journal is published quarterly by the University of Chicago Press with subscription and institutional access models in place for libraries at institutions such as the Library of Congress, British Library, National Library of Australia, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and university consortia including JSTOR and library systems at University of California campuses. In recent years publication practices have interacted with open-access initiatives promoted by entities like the Public Library of Science movement, mandates from funders such as the European Research Council and the National Institutes of Health, and platforms used by repositories including the Social Science Research Network and the Digital Public Library of America.

Category:Anthropology journals