The ''American Journal of Biological Anthropology''Info pages about the renaming are: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/26927691/homepage/productinformation.html and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26927691 (previously known as the ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'') is a

peer-reviewed 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 review ...

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...

and the official journal of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. It was established in 1918 by Aleš Hrdlička (U.S. National Museum, now the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History). The journal covers the field of biological anthropology, a discipline which Hrdlička defined in the first issue as "the study of racial anatomy, physiology and pathology." The

Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology The Wistar Institute () is an independent, nonprofit research institution in biomedical science, with expertise in oncology, immunology, infectious disease and vaccine research. Located on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Wistar was ...

was the original publisher. Before launching publication, there were few outlets in the United States to publish scientific work in physical anthropology. Scientists hoping to learn more about recent discoveries often had to wait for several months or even years before becoming available in libraries throughout the country. In addition to its monthly issues, the association also publishes two supplements, the ''Yearbook of Physical Anthropology'' and a meeting supplement.

History

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, anthropology was embedded in a larger milieu of scientific racism and eugenics. Hrdlička put prominent eugenicist

Charles Davenport Charles Benedict Davenport (June 1, 1866 – February 18, 1944) was a biologist and eugenics, eugenicist influential in the Eugenics in the United States, American eugenics movement. Early life and education Davenport was born in Stamford, Co ...

on the journal's editorial board, and used his connection to

Madison Grant Madison Grant (November 19, 1865 – May 30, 1937) was an American lawyer, zoologist, anthropologist, and writer known primarily for his work as a eugenicist and conservationist, and as an advocate of scientific racism. Grant is less noted f ...

to obtain funding for his new journal. Hrdlička was deeply suspicious of genetics and statistics; not even

standard deviation In statistics, the standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean (also called the expected value) of the set, while ...

s were allowed into his journal during his 24 years as editor-in-chief. After his death, the journal continued as the organ of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, which Hrdlička had founded in 1930.

Modern focus

Like the field of physical anthropology, the journal has grown and developed into research areas far beyond its origins. It publishes research in areas such as human paleontology,

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...

, anatomy, biology, genetics, primatology, and

forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...

Impact

In 2009, the journal was selected by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 10 most influential journals of the century in the fields of biology and medicine, along with the '' American Journal of Botany'', ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'', '' Journal of Paleontology'', ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...

'', ''

Journal of Zoology The ''Journal of Zoology'' is a scientific journal concerning zoology, the study of animals. It was founded in 1830 by the Zoological Society of London and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It carries original research papers, which are targeted t ...

'', '' Nature'', '' New England Journal of Medicine'', '' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'', and '' Science''. According to the Journal Citation Reports, its 2020 impact factor is 2.868, ranking it 15th out of 93 in the category "Anthropology" and 27th out of 50 in the category "Evolutionary Biology". Additionally, the journal has earned the most citations in the category "Anthropology" each year for over a decade.

''Yearbook of Physical Anthropology''

The ''Yearbook of Physical Anthropology'' is an annual

supplement of the ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology''. It provides "broad but thorough coverage of developments within the discipline" of physical anthropology.

Past editors

* 1918-1942 Aleš Hrdlička * 1943-1949 T. Dale Stewart * 1949-1954

William W. Howells William White Howells (November 27, 1908 – December 20, 2005) was a professor of anthropology at Harvard University. Howells, grandson of the novelist William Dean Howells, was born in New York City, the son of John Mead Howells, the architec ...

* 1955-1957

Sherwood L. Washburn Sherwood Larned Washburn ( – ), nicknamed "Sherry", was an American physical anthropologist, and "a legend in the field." He was pioneer in the field of primatology, opening it to the study of primates in their natural habitats. His research ...

* 1958-1963

William S. Laughlin William S. Laughlin (August 26, 1919 – April 6, 2001) was an American anthropologist who carried on research and wrote about aboriginal peoples in the Aleutians and Greenland. William Sceva Laughlin was born in Canton, Missouri in 1919. He ...

* 1964-1969

Frederick S. Hulse Frederick Seymour Hulse (February 11, 1906 – May 16, 1990) was an American anthropologist. Hulse was born in New York City in 1906 to Hiram Richard Hulse and the former Frances Burrows Seymour. He had two sisters, Mary and Charity. His parents ...

* 1970-1977 William S. Pollitzer * 1977-1983

Francis E. Johnston Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

* 1983-1989 William A. Stini * 1989-1995

Matt Cartmill Matthew Cartmill is an American anthropologist and professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University, where he formerly served as Chair of Anthropology. Education and career Cartmill was educated at Pomona Colleg ...

* 1995-2001 Emőke J.E. Szathmáry * 2001-2007

Clark Spencer Larsen Clark Spencer Larsen (born 1952) is an American biological anthropologist, author, and educator. His work focuses on bioarchaeology, the study of human remains from archaeological settings. Although his interests span the entire record of human ...

* 2007-2013

Christopher B. Ruff Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

* 2013-2019

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 als ...

* 2019-

Trudy R. Turner Trudy is a diminutive of Gertrude. Notable people with the name include: People * Trudy Adams (born 1964), American actress * Trudy Anderson (born 1959), New Zealand cricketer * Trudy Bellinger, British music video director * Trudy Benson (bo ...

References

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External links

''American Journal of Biological Anthropology'' Official website''Yearbook of Biological Anthropology'' Official website
Annual journals Anthropology journals Paleontology journals English-language journals Monthly journals Publications established in 1918 Wiley (publisher) academic journals Academic journals associated with learned and professional societies of the United States