Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports is aimed at all scholars, from anthropological archaeologists to scientific specialists, who are engaged with the application of scientific techniques and methods throughout the entire field of archaeology. The journal focuses on the results of scientific investigations applied to archaeological research questions, problems, and debates of wide interest and, in turn, their significance for understanding behaviors in the past. It also provides a forum, after consultation with the editors, for reviews or debates about important issues or “hot topics” in scientific archaeology and their impacts in the broader field.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports publishes papers of excellent archaeological science, and both scientific and archaeological aspects of the research should be well represented within all manuscripts submitted to the journal. The majority of our accepted submissions are Research Articles in which a scientific technique sheds light on a clearly defined archaeological research question or debate. Shorter Communications, Reviews, and other article formats are also welcome, but interested authors are encouraged to consult with the editors prior to submitting manuscripts in these formats.

Research should be demonstrably contextualized within the region and period of interest (that is, it is situated in the relevant geographic, chronological, historical, etc. contexts) and, ideally, within a topic or question of broad interest or significance to a global audience. Applications of scientific techniques must be underpinned by clear archaeological or methodological research questions and be set within established and/or developing research frameworks. The submission of papers focused around the analysis of single objects or small sample sizes (e.g., a low number of sherds) and papers situated in conservation studies are discouraged, unless of exceptional quality and/or international significance.

Submissions within our publishing scope will be considered by an Editor-in-Chief and, after passing desk review, will be reviewed by at least two peer reviewers. Submissions might also be handled by Associate Editors with relevant subject expertise. We aim to reach a first decision within 6 weeks.

We welcome suggestions for thematic sets of papers arising from meetings focused on any aspect of scientific archaeology, and we publish Special Issues of high-quality papers deriving from conferences and symposia on the archaeological sciences.

We welcome submissions from scholars anywhere in the world and at any career stage, and we especially encourage contributions from early career researchers as well as archaeologists from under-represented communities or countries.

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Please see our Guide for Authors for information on article submission. If you require any further information or help, please visit our Support Center