University of Pittsburgh Latin American Archaeology Publications
Information for Authors
Back to publications home page.
We publish reports of archaeological research carried out in Latin America--reports that reach conclusions of broad enough importance to be of interest to more than just regional specialists and that support their conclusions with detailed primary data and full accounts of the analyses that connect these data to the conclusions. Our volumes appear in one of three series. Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology has a larger page size and a format designed to accommodate longer works, while Latin American Archaeology Reports has a smaller page size and a format more suitable for shorter works. It is our policy to co-publish volumes in both these series with institutions in the countries where the research reported on was carried out so that they are accessible both where the research was done as well as through international scholarly publications channels. The series Arqueología de México reports on research in Mexico and is co-published with the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Works published to date in all three series are listed at http://www.pitt.edu/~laap/publisher index.html. (Select "University of Pittsburgh.") Volumes in all three series are bilingual. The volumes are complemented by data presented on the web in the University of Pittsburgh Latin American Archaeology Database http://www.pitt.edu/~laad.
Manuscripts may be submitted in either English or Spanish. They are reviewed by our editorial committee, consisting of Robert Drennan, Chair, Marc Bermann, Olivier de Montmollin, and James Richardson; outside reviews are also sought as needed. Manuscript acceptance is usually accompanied by suggestions for revisions from reviewers. Interested authors are encouraged to contact Robert Drennan drennan@pitt.edu to discuss publication of their work at any stage in the process of preparing a manuscript.
Matters of Style
We will correct stylistic errors when we note them, but we are not prepared to copy-edit manuscripts. It is, then, the author's responsibility to provide clearly written and stylistically correct text in the original language. Compactness and directness of expression is encouraged since bilingual publication makes verbosity doubly inefficient. Our only utterly inviolable style rule is that of consistency. We're ok with BC or B.C. or BCE or B.C.E., but we cannot abide BC in one chapter and B.C. in the next. We strongly urge adherence to the Society for American Archaeology's Style Guide (sections 3.3, 3.4, and 3.9, which deal with textual elements, citations, and references). The Style Guide is available on the web http://www.saa.org/publications/Styleguide/styframe.html. Particularly useful guidance is found in:
An additional useful reference is the Chicago Manual of Style. For English, we generally follow US spellings and usage (analyze rather than analyse); for Portuguese, Brazilian; and for Spanish, those of the country where the research reported was carried out. Again, the essential element is consistency throughout the manuscript. We do not use footnotes or endnotes if it can possibly be avoided.
Manuscript Preparation
Manuscripts for review should ordinarily be submitted on paper, single-spaced. They do not need to be elegantly formatted, because such formatting will only have to be removed later in the publication process. They should be accompanied by paper copies of all figures and tables. When a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it should be submitted in electronic form. Generally the text should be in a form of a Word document. When final revisions have been made, the file should be printed out and proofread completely. A paper copy that corresponds exactly to the files submitted should also be provided. Needless to say, authors should keep copies of all files in exactly the form they have been submitted to us. Once a manuscript has been accepted with final revisions, it is final; no changes can be made once translation has begun.
It is often convenient to submit a separate file for each chapter. Please adhere to the following rules in preparing text files:
Figures
Graphical material should never be included in the text file. All figures should be numbered in a single sequence. (We call them all "figures;" there are no "maps," "charts," "photographs," or "plates.") The most convenient numbering scheme starts over in each chapter (Figure 1.1, 1.2, etc. in Chapter 1; Figure 2.1, 2.2, etc. in Chapter 2). All figures must be referred to in the text. The first figure referred to in the Chapter 1 text is Figure 1.1; the second referred to is Figure 1.2; etc.
Line drawings can be submitted on paper either as originals or high quality reproductions (laser printer output will not ordinarily do). Submission of line art in electronic format is preferred. For black and white line art, submit either bitmap TIFF files or gray-scale JPEG files. Resolution should be 1200 dots per inch, calculated at the size the figure will appear in the book. A copy on paper at the size the figure is intended to appear should also be submitted. In preparing line art avoid the use of gray scales which often do not survive the publication process faithfully. Larger patterns of hatching are more reliable. Plan carefully for the size at which figures will finally appear. The Memoir and Arqueología de México formats can accommodate illustrations up to 7 by 9 inches (17.8 by 22.9 cm); the Report format, up to 5.25 by 8 inches (13.3 by 20.3 cm). (Space for captions in both languages must be subtracted from these dimensions.) Larger illustrations can often be divided across two facing pages, providing a useable space (including caption) of 14 by 9 inches (35.6 by 22.9 cm) in the Memoir and Arqueología de México formats and 10.5 by 8 inches (26.7 by 20.3 cm) in the Report format.
Graphical scales should always appear in figures; scale should never be indicated as a ratio, e.g. 1:1,000. It is often convenient for the reader if comparable line art is all at the same scale. For example, a series of plans of different excavated areas that vary in size are easier to compare if they are all presented at a scale where, say, 1 cm on the printed page equals 1 m, rather than if all occupy the full width of a page, regardless of what the scale turns out to be. This requires careful advance planning, so that even the largest plan will fit on a page and so that text comes out the same size on the page in all of them. Use care in choosing text sizes for figures. There is no reason for text in figures to be appreciably larger than the text on the page, and if it is appreciably smaller it will probably not be legible. This means most text in figures should be between 1.5 and 2.0 mm high, although larger text may be appropriate in some contexts, much as headings in text use larger type. Sans serif fonts (such as Arial as opposed to Times Roman) are easier to read at smaller sizes. Text in both languages must be included in figures when they are prepared for submission, because figures are only printed once, with a caption in both languages. Be sure lines are heavy enough to reproduce well at the size the figure will finally appear.
Photographs and other figures involving shades of gray may be submitted as photographic slides or negatives, or as glossy prints at least as large as they are finally to appear. If possible, we prefer that they be submitted as TIFF or JPEG files. JPEGs should be saved with as little compression as possible. Resolution should work out to at least 600 dots per inch at the size the figures are finally to appear. They may be submitted in black-and-white or in color, but we can only publish in black-and-white. (Color illustrations may appear in the Latin American Archaeology Database, however. See below.)
Tables
Table-like material (requiring multiple aligned columns) should never be included in the text. It should be separated out as tables. Like figures, all tables must be referred to in the text and numbered in the order they are referred to. It is preferred that tables be submitted as Excel spreadsheets. They should all be accompanied by a copy printed on paper as well. In tables that consist primarily of numbers, they will be printed only once, with text in both languages, and this should be borne in mind when tables are being prepared.
On-line Database
We maintain the Latin American Archaeology Database so as to present material that complements volumes we publish. This material is usually difficult or expensive to publish on paper but economical or advantageous to make available electronically. Such material could include, but is not limited to, quantitative data that is most readily utilized by importing to a database or statistical analysis program; map data that might most easily be used by importing into a GIS program; graphics in color, since we can only print black-and-white graphics; voluminous and detailed data. The printed book should be self-contained, in that all details needed to understand how the conclusions were reached should be included, but detailed supporting information can be presented in the on-line database.