Research Guides: Archaeology: Articles

Like the Rosetta Stone (pictured above), please use the resources on this page as tools to aid in your quest for knowledge.

What's a 'Scholarly Journal'?

For many course assignments, you will be required to use scholarly journals. These are also called "academic' journals, 'peer-reviewed' journals, or 'refereed' journals. Here are some characteristics that distinguish scholarly journals from more popular magazines (see especially tips in red):

Scholarly Journals

Audience is made up of scholars, researchers, students of the field
Written by specialists in the field, usually scholars with Ph.D.s -- are signed and often include author's credentials.
Appearance is serious and sober, with few colors and few or no advertisements
Coverage is original research results and scholarship
Are written in technical and scholarly language and may be reviewed or "refereed" before publication by an editorial board or outside scholars
Articles are usually at least 7-10 pages in length
Supposed to present objective/neutral viewpoint; often published by professional associations such as National Communication Association
Frequency is usually quarterly or semi-annual
References are cited and usually includes a bibliography and/or footnotes
Examples are American Journal of Archaeology, Archaeological Reports, and Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory.

Article Databases

Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
Annual Reviews synthesizes primary research literature and identifies the principal contributions in 29 disciplines for a given time period in the biomedical, physical, and social sciences. Editorial committees comprised of distinguished scholars in the discipline select topics for review, and the articles are written by authors who are recognized experts in the field.
Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new window
Anthropology Plus is an international index to the literature of anthropology and archaeology.
Anthrosource This link opens in a new window
Produced by the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in collaboration with the University of California Press. Years of Coverage: 1888 - present
ATLA Religion Database This link opens in a new window
Produced by the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). Provides information on topics such as biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religion in social issues. Covers the research literature of religion in 35 languages.
Art Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Art Abstracts indexes and abstracts journal articles, yearbooks, and museum bulletins from periodicals published throughout the world. Subject coverage includes advertising, archaeology, art, art history, architecture, crafts, folk art, graphic arts, interior design, photography, art criticism, video, and film.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides the complete back files of 218 important research journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences.
Perseus This link opens in a new window
The Perseus Project is a digital library of resources for the study of the ancient world. It includes historical overviews, an encyclopedia, primary texts in Greek and English, and thousands of images and descriptions of vases, coins, scupture, buildings and sites.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Wiley Online Library hosts a multidisciplinary collection of book and journal literature covering life, health and physical sciences, social science, and the humanities.

Archaeology

Find a Specific Journal

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What's a 'Scholarly Journal'?

Article Databases