DONATE

Editorial Policy

I. Editorial Policy

A. Introduction

This style guide is designed primarily for manuscripts submitted to the journal Historical Archaeology, but also pertains to all printed and electronic publications of the society. All copy using the name, logo, and other copyright material owned by the Society for Historical Archaeology will be processed through and approved by a society editor.

B. Policies

The Society for Historical Archaeology publishes the journal Historical Archaeology quarterly. Subscription to the journal is by membership in the society. Original articles published in the journal promote research in historical archaeology and archaeological method and theory as practiced worldwide. The editors encourage special-topics issues, collected papers, and thematic issues. In addition to original articles, technical briefs, memorials, interviews, and book reviews in historical archaeology are published in the journal. Reviews and memorials are solicited by the respective editors for those topics.

The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) also issues special publications on historical archaeology. SHA Special Publications are print-on-demand and eBooks designed to broaden access to Historical Archaeology topics. The SHA has agreements with a number of academic presses for co-publication of books.

Please note the following important provisos:

  1. Manuscripts must follow the journal’s style provisions, or they may be returned to authors for reformatting prior to peer review. Editors encourage authors to write in active-voice sentences. For matters of style not included here, authors should consult the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Also see section III.B for additional sources.
  2. Editors reserve the right to reject (with or without review by referees) or return for revision any submission that addresses a subject inappropriate for the scope of the journal or that is of poor quality or inadequate length (too short or excessive). The journal does not designate a maximum length, but typical articles run 35,000–55,000 characters and spaces.
  3. All artwork and text remain the property of the Society for Historical Archaeology. No text copy or artwork for published papers will be returned to authors.
  4. Authors, and not the Society for Historical Archaeology, are responsible for manuscript content, including accuracy of quotations and correct citation of all material.
  5. The manuscript should be entirely original or, at most, no more than 30% previously published material. If the submission includes previously published information or text, the manuscript must offer a significantly new perspective on the previously published text or information. The journal does not publish English translations of material previously published in a language other than English. The journal does not republish book chapters.
  6. The journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and subscribes to its principles on how to deal with acts of misconduct, thereby committing to investigate allegations of misconduct to ensure the integrity of research.
  7. The journal conforms to the 1973 American Anthropological Association statement on gender terms, which discourages the use of gender language (his, her, man, etc.) in contexts that are not sex specific. Use neutral words (they, one, humans, researchers, etc.) while maintaining the subject/verb agreement in number, or structure sentences to avoid the issue.
  8. Data and illustrations must comply with SHA professional ethical standards to be published in the journal, newsletter, and co-publications. Potentially sensitive content concerned with human remains, items associated with graves, and objects of cultural patrimony must comply with the procedures described in this guide. For the purposes of this policy, SHA follows the definition of “objects of cultural patrimony” as defined by NAGPRA policy. Images of potentially sensitive content will not be published as cover images. Upon request by editors, evidence of a good-faith effort to obtain consent from relevant authorities and descendant-community members and/or representatives to publish potentially sensitive images and data must be made available by authors. This consent should include direct descendants or descendant-community representatives as well as the institution(s) curating/responsible for the objects, information, and/or remains. Reaching out to your SHPO, THPO, NAGPRA coordinator, or federal agencies with jurisdiction in the region is recommended. The most current contact information for THPOs may be found at <https://grantsdev.cr.nps.gov/THPO_Review/index.cfm>.