The ''Annual Review of Anthropology'' is an academic journal that publishes

review article A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic within a certain discipline. A review article is generally considered a secondary source since it may analyze and discuss the method and conclusions i ...

s of significant developments in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and its subfields. First published by

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

in 1959 under the name the ''Biennial Review of Anthropology'', it became known as the current title in 1972 when its publication was assumed by Annual Reviews.

Don Brenneis Donald Lawrence Brenneis (born February 2, 1946) is an American anthropologist and professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Brenneis served as president of the American Anthropological Association (2002–2003). He ...

and

Karen B. Strier Karen B. Strier is a primatologist. She is a Vilas Research Professor and Irven DeVore professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and co-editor of ''Annual Review of Anthropology''. The main subject of her research is th ...

have been the

editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

since 2013. As of 2022, according to ''

Journal Citation Reports ''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publicationby Clarivate Analytics (previously the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters). It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science-Core Colle ...

'', the journal has an

impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ...

of 4.064, ranking it fifth out of 93 journals in the category "Anthropology".

History

In the late 1950s, anthropologist

Bernard J. Siegel Bernard Joseph Siegel (October 26, 1917–August 19, 2003) was an American cultural anthropologist who spent most of his career at Stanford University, where he helped establish its anthropology department. He was the founder of the ''Biennia ...

received a grant from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

to establish an

journal that published

s surveying recent developments in the field.

published the first volume ''Biennial Review of Anthropology'' in 1959. Siegel was the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

of the journal. By the publication of the third volume of the journal Siegel was approached by psychologist Ernest R. Hilgard, member of the board of directors of Annual Reviews, about publishing the journal with them instead of Stanford University Press. Siegel was initially resistant, though eventually saw the advantages of switching publishers. The ''Biennial Review of Anthropology'' released seven volumes in total through 1971. Beginning in 1972, the project was assumed by the nonprofit publisher Annual Reviews, with Siegel remaining as editor. The format changed to annual publication instead of every other year, with the title changed to ''Annual Review of Anthropology''. It became the second journal title in the

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of s ...

s published by Annual Reviews, after the ''

Annual Review of Psychology The ''Annual Review of Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes review articles about psychology. First published in 1950, its longest-serving editors have been Mark Rosenzweig (1969–1994) and Susan Fiske (2000&ndas ...

'' was first released in 1950. Starting with the second volume, it included prefatory chapters where prominent anthropologists reflected on their careers. The twenty-fifth volume, published in 1996, marked the first time that the journal was published electronically.

Scope and indexing

It defines its scope as covering significant developments in the field of anthropology; it covers subfields like

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

biological anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

, international and regional anthropology, and

sociocultural anthropology Sociocultural anthropology is a portmanteau used to refer to social anthropology and cultural anthropology together. It is one of the four main branches of anthropology. Sociocultural anthropologists focus on the study of society and culture, while ...

. As of 2022, according to ''

'', the journal has an

of 4.064, ranking it fifth out of 93 journals in the category "Anthropology". It is

abstracted and indexed An abstracting service is a service that provides abstracts of publications, often on a subject or group of related subjects, usually on a subscription basis. An indexing service is a service that assigns descriptors and other kinds of access poi ...

Scopus Scopus is Elsevier's abstract and citation database launched in 2004. Scopus covers nearly 36,377 titles (22,794 active titles and 13,583 inactive titles) from approximately 11,678 publishers, of which 34,346 are peer-reviewed journals in top- ...

Science Citation Index Expanded The Science Citation Index Expanded – previously entitled Science Citation Index – is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and created by Eugene Garfield. It was officially launched in 1964 ...

Social Sciences Citation Index The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) is a commercial citation index product of Clarivate Analytics. It was originally developed by the Institute for Scientific Information from the Science Citation Index. The Social Sciences Citation Index ...

, IBZ Online,

Anthropological Literature Anthropological Literature (AL) is an online database of citations to journal articles and articles in edited volumes and symposia held by the Tozzer Library (previously the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology), the anthropology library a ...

, and

Academic Search Academic Search is a monthly indexing service. It was first published in 1997 by EBSCO Publishing in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Its academic focus is international universities, covering social science, education, psychology, and other subjects ...

, among others.

Editorial processes

The ''Annual Review of Anthropology'' is helmed by the editor or the co-editors. The editor is assisted by the editorial committee, which includes associate editors, regular members, and occasionally guest editors. Guest members participate at the invitation of the editor, and serve terms of one year. All other members of the editorial committee are appointed by the Annual Reviews board of directors and serve five-year terms. The editorial committee determines which topics should be included in each volume and solicits reviews from qualified authors. Unsolicited manuscripts are not accepted.

Peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

of accepted manuscripts is undertaken by the editorial committee.

Editors of volumes

Dates indicate publication years in which someone was credited as a lead editor or co-editor of a journal volume. The planning process for a volume begins well before the volume appears, so appointment to the position of lead editor generally occurred prior to the first year shown here. An editor who has retired or died may be credited as a lead editor of a volume that they helped to plan, even if it is published after their retirement or death. *

(1959–1992) * William H. Durham (1993–2008) *

and

Peter Ellison Peter Thorpe Ellison (born 1951) is an American anthropologist who researches human reproductive ecology. His work has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship and membership of the National Academy of Sciences, among other honors. He has al ...

(2010–2014) * Brenneis and

(announced 2012; credited for issues 2015–present)

Current editorial committee

As of 2022, the editorial committee consists of the co-editors and the following members: * Zoë Crossland * Tine M. Gammeltoft * Graham M. Jones *

Eduardo Góes Neves Eduardo Góes Neves is professor of archaeology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is known for his work directing the Central Amazon Project from 1995 to 2010. Career Neves received his PhD from Indiana University. In 2005, his colleag ...

* Shalini Shankar * J. Josh Snodgrass * Bregje van Eekelen

References

{{Authority control

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...