Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos

Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos
Title	Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos
Discipline	Anthropology
Language	Spanish
Publisher	Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Country	Mexico
History	1940s–present
Frequency	Annual/biannual

Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos is a scholarly periodical focused on anthropological research in Mexico and Latin America. It publishes articles on archaeology, ethnography, and ethnohistory and engages with debates linked to indigenous rights, cultural heritage, and regional studies. The journal interacts with academic institutions, museums, and research centers across the Americas and Europe.

History

Founded in the mid‑20th century during periods of institutional consolidation in Mexico, the journal emerged amid reforms associated with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, the cultural policies of the Presidency of Miguel Alemán Valdés, and the expansion of departments at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Early editorial networks included scholars associated with the Museo Nacional de Antropología, the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, and international contacts at the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Cambridge, and the Université de Paris. Throughout its history the journal reflected methodological shifts influenced by figures connected to Claude Lévi‑Strauss, Alfred Kroeber, Julian Steward, and Mexican researchers trained under exchanges with the Carnegie Institution. Political events such as the Mexican Student Movement of 1968 and policy changes under administrations like Luis Echeverría Álvarez shaped its thematic emphasis on indigenous movements represented in congresses at venues like the Palacio de Bellas Artes and collaborations with NGOs linked to the United Nations.

Scope and Content

The periodical covers fieldwork reports, theoretical essays, and archival studies spanning regions like the Valley of Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula, the Guatemala Highlands, the Oaxacan Sierra, and the Baja California Peninsula. Contributions analyze archaeological sites such as Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, Chichen Itzá, Tikal, and Palenque, and discuss cultural practices among groups including the Nahua people, Maya people, Zapotec people, Mixtec people, and Rarámuri people. The journal situates studies within conversations referencing scholars and works like Eric Wolf, Marshall Sahlins, Clifford Geertz, Mary Douglas, and publications from institutions such as the British Museum, the Peabody Museum, and the Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas. Intersections with legal and political processes cite actors such as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, and international frameworks like the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Editorial Structure and Peer Review

Editorial governance typically involves an editorial board drawn from universities such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, and foreign centers including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oxford, and the Universität Heidelberg. Guest editors have included researchers associated with the Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú, the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, and the Ford Foundation. Peer review procedures reflect standards common to journals linked with the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences and editorial policies inspired by practices at the American Anthropological Association and the American Institute of Archaeology. Special issues have been coordinated in collaboration with conferences such as the International Congress of Americanists and regional meetings at the Universidad de Guadalajara.

Publication and Access

Published on an annual or biannual cycle, issues have appeared in print and later in digital formats paralleling archives at institutions like the Biblioteca Nacional de México and repositories associated with the Redalyc and the Latindex catalog. Distribution networks include university presses such as the Presses Universitaires de France for translations and partnerships with museum shops like those at the Museo Nacional de Antropología and the Museo del Templo Mayor. Funding and sponsorship over time have involved agencies like the Secretaría de Cultura (Mexico), the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, and international donors including the Guggenheim Foundation.

Indexing and Impact

The journal appears in regional and international indexes compiled by organizations such as Scopus, the Web of Science, Redalyc, Latindex, and the Directory of Open Access Journals when eligibility criteria are met. Citation patterns link articles to authors publishing in venues like the Journal of Latin American Studies, the American Anthropologist, the Latin American Antiquity, and edited volumes from publishers such as Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Its impact is evident in cross‑citations by scholars affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.

Notable Articles and Contributions

Landmark articles have included monographic field reports on excavations at Monte Albán and interpretive syntheses on ritual practices among the Maya people and the Aztec Empire, as well as ethnographic analyses of migration linked to studies in the United States and Guatemala. Influential contributions engaged with heritage debates surrounding sites like Cholula, policy critiques responding to events in Chiapas and collaborative methodological pieces referencing work by Inga Clendinnen, Miguel León-Portilla, Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, and Enrique Florescano. The journal has published translations and critical reviews of works by Lewis Henry Morgan, Franz Boas, Alfred Kroeber, and contemporary theorists appearing in volumes from the University of Chicago Press and the Duke University Press.

Category:Anthropology journals Category:Mexican academic journals