Last updated Feb 6 2024

SAA style guide

Please consult the SAA Style Guide for information regarding all textual elements, including citations and references cited, number and date style, measurements, mathematical and statistical copy, and radiometric ages and dates, as well as use of quotations, spelling, italics, capitalization, hyphenation, abbreviations, accents and diacritical marks, contractions, serial commas, parentheses, and hyperlinks.

Editorial Policy, Information for Authors, and Style Guide for American Antiquity, Latin American Antiquity, and Advances in Archaeological Practice (revised 2023)

Normas Editoriales, Información para los Autores y Guía Estilística para American Antiquity, Latin American Antiquity y Advances in Archaeological Practice (revisada en 2023)

Advances in Archaeological Practice publishes original scholarly work on how archaeologists learn about the past, convey findings in the present, or manage resources for the future. Articles are short, succinct, and problem oriented offering tangible take-aways that can be applied quickly to the day-to-day work of archaeologists in academia, government, and private practice. “Practice” is defined broadly and topics can include, but are not limited to, innovations and best practices  in technique, method, technology, business models, collaboration, compliance, process, ethics, public engagement, stewardship, and training.

Research Articles: Manuscripts for research articles must be problem oriented. They should identify a problem or issue encountered in the practice of archaeology and go on to discuss how that problem was overcome. Readers, regardless of their academic, government, or private employment sector, should be able to quickly identify and associate with the problem, understand the innovative solution, and be able to apply what they have learned to their own work.  Authors are therefore encouraged to format their articles to provide clear learning points, rather than lengthy narrative discussions.  It is important to stress that while the topic of the research article is practice, the journal is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal and manuscripts are to represent substantive works of scholarship equivalent to SAA’s other journals.

As the journal title suggests, published articles are to represent advances in practice. Practices that are not original will only be considered for publication if they are being applied in new ways or to new aspects of archaeology. Manuscripts do not need to illustrate “successes,” if they advance archaeological understanding—innovators sometimes make great strides even though the final result was not what was expected.  

The optimal manuscript size is 6,000 words excluding cited references and an abstract. An abstract in both English and Spanish is to be submitted with the manuscript. Professional foreign language translations are the responsibility of the authors and computer-generated translations are not accepted.  The editors maintain a list of people available as translators for a small fee, but all monetary transactions are the responsibility of the authors and the translator. The SAA Style Guide provides technical guidance for grammar, style, usage, and abbreviations. Readers of Advances in Archaeological Practice come from a wide range of professional settings and, thus, authors should avoid jargon readers cannot easily decipher. Technical terms in specialty areas should be defined. To accommodate authors publishing algorithms, solutions using rapidly changing technology, or other intellectual property that is time sensitive, the journal strives for very quick review and publication of manuscripts. Particular concerns should be conveyed to the editor, although the time of publication can’t be guaranteed.

How-to Articles: 

The how-to series articles are shorter, peer-reviewed, educational articles written by authors with expertise in a particular area of archaeological practice. The intent is to provide archaeologists with clear, concise, step-by-step guidelines for successfully completing tasks that are or are becoming common practice. As throughout the journal, “practice” is defined broadly; the series covers a wide range of subjects. Topics may be technical, for example presenting the correct steps involved in collecting, preserving, and transporting a particular type of sample taken for laboratory analysis.  Alternatively they may have more of a management or administrative focus, such as providing guidelines for assessing the significance of archaeological sites or developing an archaeological management plan.  Articles may provide suggestions for standardizing or streamlining common tasks or could focus on avoiding common mistakes.

How-to manuscripts should be written for a broad audience and at a level that undergraduate students can comprehend.  These manuscripts are to be focused and short, generally not exceeding 3,500 words (not including the abstracts and references cited). Define specialized terms clearly and avoid excessive use of jargon.  Manuscripts must not cover proprietary approaches or technologies and should not present the appearance of advertising goods or services provided by the authors. Direction for using multiple competitors’ products to the greatest practical extent should be given if applicable. Authors of how-to manuscripts must be established experts on the particular topic as represented by previously published works.

Digital Reviews (by invitation only):

Digital Reviews are 1500-2000 word assessments of digital media applications that have been produced to engage general and specialist audiences with archaeology and heritage. Going beyond standard book or exhibition reviews, these commentaries are intended to subject current initiatives directed at archaeology’s digitally-savvy publics to comparison and critical reflection. They might explore discipline-relevant blogs, YouTube videos, virtual reality or augmented reality applications, TED talks, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat sites, web-based crowdsourcing projects, online collections, video games, virtual worlds or other media of interest to wide markets. Review authors will provide constructive, professional and courteous – yet critically-engaged – appraisals of the content, significance and impact of these media. Each review should be oriented around a discussion of one, two or three medium-specific digital initiatives (e.g., mobile apps or virtual museums), briefly summarizing them, contextualizing them against one another (and against related initiatives), and offering thoughtful critique of their presentation, methods, objectives and emotional, physical and intellectual effects upon audiences.

Reviews should be written for a wide readership and at a level that high school students can comprehend. Authors are encouraged to reprint their reviews on their personal or professional webpages (giving clear acknowledgment to Advances in Archaeological Practice as the original publication venue), in order to broaden the reach and accessibility of the commentary. Reviews should (1) rigorously evaluate archaeology’s digital media; (2) showcase to readers the breadth and depth of relevant digital media production today; and (3) provide a space of comparison between - and critical engagement with - such productions to enable others to build upon them.

General Considerations

Photographs and Illustrations

Articles published in the journal are required to be well illustrated with color photographs, graphs, maps, and illustrations. There are not charges for the use of color. The number of illustrations is subject to approval by the editor, but as a general rule between 6-8 images is considered ideal for the format. Additional graphics can be accommodated as supplemental material. Authors should critically consider substituting illustrations for text when they are more effective or more efficient in expressing information in the same amount of space. Due to the graphical nature of articles in the journal, conference posters are an ideal starting point for preparing a manuscript.

All digital photographs and graphics submitted must be at least 300 dpi in resolution at 7 inches wide (4 megapixels).

 Written permission must be obtained from the copyright holder (usually the photographer), and also from each individual depicted in a recognizable fashion in the image. This can be time consuming, so authors are encouraged to start this process early. For further questions about copyright permissions, please contact the managing editor at [email protected]

Digital and Supplemental Material

Digital materials can be included in published articles. These materials may include three-dimensional models, animations, video, or software applications. Materials may be embedded in the PDF article files or may be included as supplemental material linked to the article. Supplemental materials may also include data, additional graphics, or ancillary materials seminal to the article.  Authors should consult the SAA policy on supplemental material and notify the editor as soon as possible if the inclusion of digital or supplemental material is requested. Videos, while encouraged, cannot be uploaded to Editorial Manager. Please contact the editor for transfer information.

Data Availability Statement

Per the policy of the SAA, “All publications of the Society for American Archaeology shall include a "Data Availability Statement" (DAS) in the published manuscript. The DAS is a paragraph that provides information on the disposition and accessibility of the physical and digital data on which the research is based." The DAS should provide the details necessary for readers to easily find and obtain data used in published articles. Generally, a statement stating that the data may be obtained by contacting the author isn’t sufficient. Data, both physical and digital, should be curated at a suitable institution. Occasionally, manuscripts may not be based on specific data. In these cases a DAS is still required but can state that original data were not used in the preparation of the article.

Content and Special Issues

Advances in Archaeological Practice does not currently publish obituaries, news, notes, calendars, or comments. The journal will consider proposals for thematic special issues or special sections of 4 to 6 papers that align with its scope and structure. These should be sent to the attention of the editor and will be reviewed by the Editorial Board.

Peer Review

Advances in Archaeological Practice uses a “double-anonymous” review process. Thus, submitted manuscripts are not to include a cover page with the names or contact information of the authors. Authors should be mindful of other places in the manuscript where they may disclose their identity:  file names, footers, citations, in the data availability statement, acknowledgements, etc. If authors do disclose their identity by choice or error, manuscripts will still be circulated for review and reviewers may be able to know the identity of authors.

Converting your file to pdf format does not remove embedded identity information. For guidance on removing your identity from Microsoft documents, see the following: 

https://support.office.com/en-...

Double-Anonymous peer review

Advances in Archaeological Practice is a double-anonymous peer review journal. Double-anonymous peer review means that a manuscript’s author or authors do not know who reviewers are and reviewers do not know the names of authors. Instructions for anonymizing your manuscript prior to peer review can be found here.

Article types and length

The article lengths listed below includes all elements in the manuscript file, including references. 

The recommended length for a Research Article is 10,000 words.

The recommended length for a How-to Article is 5,000 words.

Digital reviews (by invitation only) average 1,500-2,500 words.

Full article type descriptions can be found below.

Preparing your article for submission

In the initial submissions the main file should be compiled in the following order, in a single document file:

• English abstract (200 words or less)  English keywords (3—5 words) 
• Main text
• Data Availability Statement (anonymized as necessary)
• Notes
• References Cited
• Supplemental material caption(s) (if applicable)
• Figure caption(s)
• Table caption(s) 

Figures and tables should be uploaded as separate, numbered files. Tables:  .doc(x) and .xls(x) files are accepted; authors may prefer to submit large/complex tables in .xls. 

AAP accepts supplemental material (text, figures, tables, images, appendixes, videos, etc.) that can be posted as online companion files at the time of publication. Videos and sound files can also be embedded in articles.

If an article is accepted for publication, authors will be asked to submit final files in the following order and with the following additional elements:

• Author list with Corresponding Author designation, full contact details, and affiliations, including country
• English and second-language abstract(s) (200 words or less) English and second language keywords (3—5 words) 
• Main text
• Acknowledgments
• Funding Statement 
• Data Availability Statement (non-anonymized as necessary)
• Competing Interests statement
• Notes
• References Cited
• Supplemental material caption(s) (where applicable)
• Figure caption(s)
• Table caption(s)

Abstract and keywords

The abstract, which summarizes a manuscript and its argument, has a 200-word limit. Contributors must also submit 3—5 keywords. 

Spanish abstracts and keywords for manuscripts written in English are not required at the time of submission but will be required if the manuscript is accepted for publication. Abstracts and keywords can also be accepted in Portuguese and French, when regionally appropriate.

Acknowledgments

The Acknowledgments section of a manuscript is inserted at the end of the text, using a tertiary heading—Acknowledgments.—placed flush left and immediately preceding the Funding Statement. Support for completion of a project and manuscript should be cited: institutional, intellectual, and technical (e.g., drafting of figures, translation of abstract). Authors who have worked collaboratively with communities should acknowledge their partners, individually or collectively. This section must be brief. Verbose acknowledgments will be edited prior to publication. Phrases of the sort “all errors are the sole responsibility of the author” should be omitted. The Acknowledgments section must contain a statement regarding the permits needed for the work described. This should include the permit number(s), year(s), and the name of the permitting agency or agencies. If no permit was required, this should be noted. If you would like to thank your editors, please do that by email, not in your published acknowledgments. Not all authors thank the editors, and we do not want to create any perception of favoritism. 

Funding statement

The Funding Statement section of a manuscript is inserted following the Acknowledgments, using a tertiary heading— Funding Statement.—placed flush left and immediately preceding the Data Availability Statement. Please supply all details required by any funding and grant-awarding bodies as a separate section of your manuscript, as follows:

For single agency grants: “This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx].”

For multiple agency grants: “This work was supported by the [Funding Agency 1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency 2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency 3] under Grant [number xxxx.]”

Where no specific funding has been provided for research, please provide the following statement: “This research received no specific grant funding from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.”

Data availability statement

The Data Availability Statement is intended to communicate to readers where the data are available or where the objects from which the data were derived can be obtained. Manuscripts that do not use original data should use this language: “No original data were used.” SAA journals support practices that increase data access and research transparency. Authors are strongly encouraged to make their data available through resources such as institutional repositories, digital archives with access options, or other sites that support both data preservation and allow access as appropriate. If data are legally restricted, authors should share that information in this statement. Supplemental material is not an acceptable place to provide raw data related to publication, as this is not archived with the body of the journal article. Raw data should be deposited in a repository and referenced in the text by a DOI (e.g., tdar.org, zenodo.org, osf.io, etc.)

Notes

If a utility was used to compile hyperlinked endnotes in a manuscript (e.g., “Insert endnote” function in Microsoft Word), it must be disabled and the manuscript submitted with plain text formatting.

Notes should be used sparingly in a manuscript to provide absolutely essential additional information or clarification only when inclusion of that information in the actual text would prove disruptive to the flow of the manuscript by adding too much detail on a particular point or by additional tangential material to the argument in progress. The section with the text for all notes begins a new page before the References Cited section of the paper, under the primary heading Notes. Footnotes are not allowed. Double space all entries, and list each note, paragraph style, beginning with the appropriate number. 

Example:

1. Surveys currently are being conducted in the Chinchaysuyu, Antisuyu, and Cuntisuyu areas of the Cuzco region. The preliminary results of these surveys support the findings presented here.

In-Text reference citations

In-text year citations always immediately follow the name(s) of the author(s). All of the examples make use of parentheses in their ordinary format, but note that when reference citations are used in textual material set off in parentheses, the parentheses in the citations convert to brackets.

            Example: (e.g., Shapere [1985] on the constitution of “observations” in physics, and Kosso [1989] on observation in science generally).

In-text citations should include a page number when the citation is to a book or monograph. Page numbers should always be provided for quotations, definitions, paraphrasing, and other use of exact terms regardless of the source. For more information and examples, please see the SAA Style Guide.

References cited

All references cited in the text must appear in the References Cited section list (except for personal communications and primary-source materials), and all entries in the list must be cited in the text.

When formatting references, entries should be flush left. Arrange the parts of each reference in the general order author(s)/editor(s), date, title (and subtitle if applicable), publisher, location of publisher. 

Alphabetize the references cited section by the last names of authors. Use complete first names and middle initials for authors and editors as they appear on the title page of the work. (Use initials only for authors known by initials [e.g., C. S. Lewis].) Names beginning with Mac or Mc are alphabetized letter by letter, as they appear.

Two or more works by the same author or authors should be listed chronologically (repeating author name[s] for each entry); two or more by the same author or authors in the same year should be listed in the order they are first referred to in the text and differentiated by lowercase letters following the date (e.g., 1991a, 1991b). An exception is discussed in Subsection 3.4.5 in the SAA Style Guide.

Use headline-style capitalization for all English language titles, including articles, book chapters, reports, etc. Use sentence-style capitalization for all Spanish language article and book titles (but use headline style for Spanish or other language journal titles). Use appropriate format for other foreign-language titles with respect to capitalization, accents, etc. For titles published in non-Roman alphabets—Chinese, Cyrillic, etc.—give title in Romanized transcription when possible, with English translation of the title following immediately in brackets.

If a bibliographic compiler (e.g., EndNote) has been used, authors are required to convert the output to plain text before submitting/uploading manuscripts. When citing DOIs, it is usually unnecessary to include an access date. However, when citing dataset DOIs (e.g., tDAR, Open Context, figshare, etc.), always include access dates.

For more information and examples, see the SAA Style Guide.

Artwork, figures, and other graphics

All illustrative materials are referred to as “Figures.” Tables and figures must be cited in the text, for example (see Table 1). They should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and captions provided. Figures and tables should not be interspersed in the text. For detailed information on figure preparation, please see the Cambridge Journals Artwork Guide.

Reproduction of copyrighted material: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures, or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. Authors must also obtain permissions to use images of people who can be recognized. A copy of the paperwork granting permission should be provided to the Cambridge production editor. You may be asked to pay a permissions fee by the copyright holder; any permissions fees must be paid for by the author. For an example of a permissions request form please see the Cambridge Journals Artwork Guide. 

Illustrators or photographers who are not authors should provide written permission to use the image and be credited in the caption.

            Examples: Photograph courtesy of John M. Smith or Illustration by John M. Smith and used with permission.

Tables

Tabular presentation of data should be used sparingly. Data in a very short table, for example, can often be included in the text with no loss of clarity. Large numbers of individual, similar facts, however, are best presented in a table. Avoid using abbreviations and acronyms in tables. If they cannot be avoided, they must be spelled out in the accompanying notes. Each table should have a title.

Editors, at their discretion, may require long tables be published online as supplemental material, rather than in the printed text.

Data tables should be submitted in .xls(x), .doc(x), or similar commonly used formats. They may not be submitted as image files.

Consult Chapter 3 of the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, for detailed information on planning and constructing tables; also see recent issues of the journals and the SAA Style Guide.

Supplementary materials

Material that is not essential to understanding or supporting a manuscript, but which may nonetheless be relevant or interesting to readers, may be submitted as supplementary material. Supplementary material will be published online alongside your article, but will not be published in the pages of the journal. Types of supplementary material may include, but are not limited to, appendices, additional tables or figures, datasets, videos, and sound files.

Supplementary materials will not be typeset or copyedited, so should be supplied exactly as they are to appear online. Please see our general guidance on supplementary materials for further information.

Where relevant we encourage authors to publish additional qualitative or quantitative research outputs in an appropriate repository, and cite these in manuscripts.

Competing interests

All authors must include a competing interests declaration in their final manuscript. 

Competing interests are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on the content or publication of an author’s work. They may include, but are not limited to, financial, professional, contractual, or personal relationships or situations.

If the manuscript has multiple authors, the author submitting must include competing interest declarations relevant to all contributing authors. 

Example wording for a declaration is as follows: “Competing interests: Author 1 is employed at organization A. Author 2 is on the Board of company B and is a member of organization C. Author 3 has received grants from company D.” If no competing interests exist, the declaration should state “Competing interests: The author(s) declare none.” 

CRediT taxonomy for contributors

The CRediT Taxonomy is intended to provide more transparency and acknowledgment of the work that contributes to a published paper, and while optional, we encourage its use. When submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author will be optionally prompted to provide further details concerning contributions to the manuscript using the CRediT taxonomy. CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) is a high-level taxonomy, including 14 designated options, that can be used to represent the roles typically played by contributors to scholarly output. If using CRediT, all parties who have contributed to the scholarly work, but do not meet the full criteria for authorship, should be recognised with their contributions described in terms of the CRediT taxonomy. Our default position is that the corresponding author has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors, and we expect the corresponding author to confirm this at the beginning of the submission process. When preparing your manuscript you should also ensure that you obtain permission from all contributors to describe their contributions using the CRediT taxonomy.

Article type descriptions

Research Articles: 
Manuscripts for research articles must be problem oriented. They should identify a problem or issue encountered in the practice of archaeology and go on to discuss how that problem was overcome. Readers, regardless of their academic, government, or private employment sector, should be able to quickly identify and associate with the problem, understand the innovative solution, and be able to apply what they have learned to their own work.  Authors are therefore encouraged to format their articles to provide clear learning points, rather than lengthy narrative discussions.  It is important to stress that while the topic of the research article is practice, the journal is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal and manuscripts are to represent substantive works of scholarship equivalent to the SAA’s other journals.

As the journal title suggests, published articles are to represent advances in practice. Practices that are not original will only be considered for publication if they are being applied in new ways or to new aspects of archaeology. Manuscripts do not need to illustrate “successes,” if they advance archaeological understanding—innovators sometimes make great strides even though the final result was not what was expected.  

The recommended article length is 10,000 words, including references. An English abstract is to be submitted with the manuscript, and a Spanish (or other language as appropriate) abstract will be required upon acceptance for publication. Professional foreign language translations are the responsibility of the authors and computer-generated translations are not accepted.  The editors maintain a list of people available as translators for a small fee, but all monetary transactions are the responsibility of the authors and the translator. The SAA Style Guide provides technical guidance for grammar, style, usage, and abbreviations. Readers of Advances in Archaeological Practice come from a wide range of professional settings, and thus, authors should avoid jargon readers cannot easily decipher. Technical terms in specialty areas should be defined. To accommodate authors publishing algorithms, solutions using rapidly changing technology, or other intellectual property that is time sensitive, the journal strives for very quick review and publication of manuscripts. Particular concerns should be conveyed to the editor, although the time of publication can’t be guaranteed.

How-To Articles:

The how-to series articles are shorter, peer-reviewed, educational articles written by authors with expertise in a particular area of archaeological practice. The intent is to provide archaeologists with clear, concise, step-by-step guidelines for successfully completing tasks that are or are becoming common practice. As throughout the journal, “practice” is defined broadly; the series covers a wide range of subjects. Topics may be technical, for example presenting the correct steps involved in collecting, preserving, and transporting a particular type of sample taken for laboratory analysis.  Alternatively they may have more of a management or administrative focus, such as providing guidelines for assessing the significance of archaeological sites or developing an archaeological management plan.  Articles may provide suggestions for standardizing or streamlining common tasks or could focus on avoiding common mistakes.

How-to manuscripts should be written for a broad audience and at a level that undergraduate students can comprehend. These manuscripts are to be focused and short, approximately 5,000 words, including refences. Define specialized terms clearly and avoid excessive use of jargon.  Manuscripts must not cover proprietary approaches or technologies and should not present the appearance of advertising goods or services provided by the authors. Direction for using multiple competitors’ products to the greatest practical extent should be given if applicable. Authors of how-to manuscripts must be established experts on the particular topic as represented by previously published works.

Digital Reviews (by invitation only):

Digital Reviews are 1500-2500 word (including references) assessments of digital media applications that have been produced to engage general and specialist audiences with archaeology and heritage. Going beyond standard book or exhibition reviews, these commentaries are intended to subject current initiatives directed at archaeology’s digitally-savvy publics to comparison and critical reflection. They might explore discipline-relevant blogs, YouTube videos, virtual reality or augmented reality applications, TED talks, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat sites, web-based crowdsourcing projects, online collections, video games, virtual worlds or other media of interest to wide markets. Review authors will provide constructive, professional and courteous – yet critically-engaged – appraisals of the content, significance and impact of these media. Each review should be oriented around a discussion of one, two or three medium-specific digital initiatives (e.g., mobile apps or virtual museums), briefly summarizing them, contextualizing them against one another (and against related initiatives), and offering thoughtful critique of their presentation, methods, objectives and emotional, physical and intellectual effects on audiences.

Reviews should be written for a wide readership and at a level that high school students can comprehend. Authors are encouraged to reprint their reviews on their personal or professional webpages (giving clear acknowledgment to Advances in Archaeological Practice as the original publication venue), in order to broaden the reach and accessibility of the commentary. Reviews should (1) rigorously evaluate archaeology’s digital media; (2) showcase to readers the breadth and depth of relevant digital media production today; and (3) provide a space of comparison between - and critical engagement with - such productions to enable others to build on them.