Instructions for Authors
version 5.9
Research Articles
Articles should communicate the results of original research in the field of lithics that have not been published elsewhere. Manuscripts submitted will be reviewed together with all illustrations, tables and other data. On the basis of the opinion of the referees, the Scientific Committee will decide whether or not to approve or reject the manuscript for publication. In the case of rejected manuscripts, an explanation will be provided along with a recommendation of how to modify the manuscript prior to re-submitting it. The manuscript will be tended to by the member of the Scientific Committee whose academic background is closest to the subject. Additionally, two independent experts on this topic will be asked to review the manuscript.
Please name files as follows.
Main text file:
(one author) - AUTHOR.doc
(two authors) - FIRSTAUTHOR_SECONDAUTHOR.doc
(more than two authors) - FIRSTAUTHOR_etal.doc
Figures (may be jpg, tiff, or other common formats):
AUTHOR-Fig1.jpg
AUTHOR-Fig2.tif
AUTHOR-Fig3.bmp
Tables (may be Excel files, CSV format, tab delimited format, etc.):
AUTHOR-Table1.xls
AUTHOR-Table 2.csv
AUTHOR-Table 3.xlsx
If files are too large to attach to an email (or over 10MB in total), please use a file transfer site or temporarily upload them to a server from which they can be downloaded.
Along with your manuscript, please include a cover page. Copies of the standard cover page can be downloaded from the journal website.
http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/issue/view/106
In cases where materials under copyright have been used in the manuscript, please contact the editor for further instructions.
The submitted manuscript should conform to the followings instructions.
It should be written clearly and concisely using adequate technical terminology and proper grammar. As English might not be the native language of many readers, authors are encouraged to use simple and straight forward wording. Avoid the usage of complex and run‑on sentences as well as colloquial phrases. If English is not your native language, please ensure that your manuscript has been proofread before submitting it for review.
The primary language of the publication is English. If you have no preference, please set your spell checker to “English (U.K.)”. Other varieties of English will be accepted as long they are in standard usage in a country where English is an official language.
Articles must be accompanied by an English abstract of 200 to 500 words and at least three keywords. Authors may also submit up to two alternate language versions of the abstract and keywords. The abstract should cover the theme, methodology and results in concise form and should be clear and understandable on its own. Do not cite references in the abstract.
Articles should not exceed 6000 words (excluding the bibliography and tables). Please compose your articles in a format compatible with MS Word (for example, .doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt). Font type and size, line spacing, and alignment (for example, left, right, justified) are not necessary as these will be standardised by the editors. If you require the use of a special font, please let us know. Label section headings as in the following example.
Heading level 1 1. Introduction
Heading level 2 1.1 Previous research
Heading level 2 1.2 Hypotheses
Heading level 1 2. Methods
Heading level 2 2.1. Field surveys and prospecting
Heading level 2 2.2. Preparation of samples
Heading level 3 2.2.1. Preparing raw materials samples
Heading level 3 2.2.2. Preparing artefacts
If you use Microsoft Word to prepare your manuscript, you are asked to use “styles” to identify heading levels.
Prior to using acronyms, the full term should be written out, followed by the acronym in parentheses. Subsequent usage may be simply by the acronym. For example,
This study employed the use of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to help match artefacts to raw materials. NAA is a widely used analytical method in geochemical analyses.
The article should have the following sections (or sections of a similar nature). Of course, subsections are also possible at the discretion of the author. If you feel that your article requires the use of a different layout or organisation, please let the editors know.
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
3. Results
4. Discussion and conclusions
The slash symbol
Avoid using the slash symbol [ / ] other than for mathematical purposes. Instead, use a full word or phrase. For example, the following.
A and B
A or B
A to B
A, B, or both A and B
A and B are to be considered the same thing within this context
Lists
Do not format lists using automatic numbering or bullets. Create lists as normal text. If you wish to modify the margins, do so manually. Automatically formatted lists can potentially cause problems when articles and issues are formatted. Similarly, section headings should be numbered manually.
Years
The journal doesn’t use B.C. and A.D. or their equivalents in other languages. Authors should use B.C.E., C.E., or B.P. (or equivalents in the language of the article).
Language
Each issue of the journal is in a specific language. At present, general issues are in English but occasional issues are published in other languages.
When writing or revising articles, if English is not your native language, please ask someone to proofread it for you. Take particular note of potential false cognates (words which appear to be similar between languages but which in fact have different meanings). Although some words are commonly mistranslated based on similarity with words in other languages, the journal discouraged the propagation of this alteration of meanings. For example, in some language there is a single word for both of the English words "chipped" (and accidental or uncontrolled breaking off of a piece of something) and "knapped" (the intentional breaking off of pieces of stone) or the English words "polished" (a fine grained smoothing of the surface, to produce a shiny appearance) and "grinding" (the removal of material by friction).
The journal does not promote the coining of new terms when
there are already existing academic terms because it adds to the confusion over
non-standardised and ambiguous terminology in archaeology. When referring to
lithic materials, authors should use standardised geological terminology as
defined by the various national geological institutions in English speaking
countries.
See for example the BGS Rock Classification Scheme, volume 3 "Sediments and
sedimentary rocks".
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/technologies/bgs-rock-classification-scheme/#download
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/bgsrcs/
Chert and flint are on page 22.
Hallsworth, C.R. & Knox, R.W.O.B. 1999, Classification of sediments and
sedimentary rocks. (British Geological Survey Research Report, Report No. RR
99–03), BGS Rock Classification Scheme Vol. 3. British Geological Survey,
Nottingham, 44 p. URL:
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/technologies/bgs-rock-classification-scheme/
The editorial board of the journal wishes to promote the usage of standardised
terminology. If no term exists for a certain material then it may be possible to
coin a new term but it should follow the naming principles used in geology and
it should not recycle an existing term. If you think that this is the case,
please let us know.
Images should be prepared in TIFF or JPG format at 300 dpi or higher (preferably at 600 dpi or higher), and should be embedded in the text as well as submitted as separate files. Figures should be embedded in line with the text. They should not be placed within text boxes and they should not float above the text. They must be placed at a fixed position in the text between paragraphs. The reason for this is so that the editors can easily keep track of the images when the formatting of the page is changed. Do not use text under 10 point size within the illustrations.
Figures should be made clear and understandable. The diagrams should contain quantity units, preferably in SI but some general units accepted by professionals (for example, ppm, kbar) are also acceptable with consent of the editors and the referees. Maps, photos and sketches should contain a scale bar, and maps should have a North arrow. Do not use numerical ratios to describe the scale because the scale may change in printing or re-sizing. Tables should be organised in manageable size, and data communicated in tables should not be repeated in the text. Maps should mention the source of the data in the map.
If you present photos of objects and have edited out the original photograph background, please use a white background. Do not use a black or coloured background unless there is a specific reason for it. Images with other than white background are difficult for the layout editors to process. If you feel that there is a benefit to using a non-white background, please contact the editors to let them know.
Do not add in false shadows. They cause various problems, among which is when the layout editors process the article.
Because the journal produces PDF versions of articles based on the A4 paper
size, figure sizes should be one of the following two options:
a. Normal figures are 16 cm in width and up to 22 cm high (including the space
taken up by the text caption on the page below the figure).
b. Landscape oriented, high detail figures up to 24.5 cm wide and up to 14 cm
high (including the space taken up by the text caption on the page below the
figure on a landscape oriented page).
Preference should be for images that can fit on a normal, portrait oriented
page. If you feel that a high detail, wider than normal image would be better,
please contact the editors to discuss this option.
Text in figures must be at least at 10 point font size. (For comparison, the
text in the captions under the figures is also 10 point size.)
Blurry photos or diagrams are not permitted.
Photographs of lithic artefacts should follow the following guidelines:
a. Artefacts should be oriented following the technological, longitudinal or
functional axis.
b. Backgrounds must be white (or invisible if submitted in Photoshop format).
c. Scale bars must be displayed and legible. It is recommended that the same
scale bar format is used in all images throughout the article.
d. All segments of figures (for multi-part figures) must be identified using
numbers or letters.
Figures and tables should be numbered sequentially and each should contain a descriptive caption. Captions should appear on the first line after the figure itself. Do not place captions in a text box. All figures and tables included with the articles must be cited within the text. Figures and tables may be referenced in passing or following a sentence, for example as in the following.
Since 1942, several excavations have taken place at this archaeological site. (See Figure 4.) The artefacts from the site are listed in Table 2.
Figure 4. Excavation trenches at Tărtăria conducted between 1942 and 1989. (Aerial photo from the ANCPI orthophoto dataset; site data from Paul (2011: 51) and unpublished field survey data by Paul in 1989).
Figures and tables should appear after the first paragraph in which they are mentioned.
In preparing the complete manuscript please consider that some readers may print the article. PDF versions of the articles will be provided in A4 page size, with 2 cm margins. The size of the figures and tables intended to be included in the main articles should reflect these size limitations. Online, the illustrations and tables will be visible in line with the text as well as being available as separate files. Tables containing data which cannot fit on a single printed page might not appear in print and PDF versions of the articles (except as references to their online counterparts), or may be re-sized or rotated in order to fit.
The editors maintain the right to re-size illustrations if necessary. The editors may also resize or rearrange tables for optimal appearance or place them among the supplementary materials.
If you feel that your article would benefit from the use of a non-printable media (for example, video or sound) please let us know as it will be possible to include these in the digital version of the proceedings. These supplementary materials will be accessible online together with the document but they will not be printed in hard copy versions of the volume or in PDF versions. Instead a link to the online material will be listed.
Author can also refer to external documents accessible on the internet but the editors cannot guarantee their long term integrity and accessibility. It is therefore better for such content to be placed online along with the article if the author has proper authorisation to do so.
The authors must provide all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript as part of the submitted manuscript or supplementary files. (If not, they make it fully available without restrictions by some other means.) When submitting your article, please review the following check list.
• Data must be available to readers, either in the text, in supplementary files, or through an open data repository (for example, the free repository Zenodo) or some other institutional repository. Data must be reusable, thus metadata or accompanying text must carefully describe the data.
• Details on quantitative analyses (for example, data treatment and statistical scripts in R, SPSS scripts, etc.) and details concerning simulations (scripts, codes) must be available to readers in the text, as supplementary files, or through an open data repository. The scripts or codes must be carefully described so that they can be reused.
• Details on experimental procedures must be available to readers in the text or as supplementary files.
While writing your article and compiling supplementary files, please keep the following points in mind.
• The repository the data is deposited in must be suitable for this subject and have a sustainability model.
• The data must be deposited under an open license that permits unrestricted access (for example, CC0, CC-BY). More restrictive licenses should only be used if a valid reason (for example, legal) is present.
• The deposited data must include a version that is in an open, non-proprietary format.
• The deposited data must have been labelled in such a way that a 3rd party can make sense of it (for example, sensible column headers, descriptions in a readme text file).
• Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Where applicable, the studies must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. The identity of the research subject must be anonymised whenever possible. For research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained from participants (or their legal guardian).
• A ‘Data Accessibility Statement’ should be added to the submission, prior to the reference list, providing the details of the data accessibility, including the DOI linking to it. If the data is restricted in any way, the reasoning should be given.
Citations should be made within the text (see the details below) and references should be listed in full after the text. If you regularly use citation software such as EndNote, please use this to insert citations in your article. In this case, please let us know and we will send you a style sheet file. If you do not use such a program, feel free to enter citations manually. Avoid the use of footnotes and endnotes. All necessary information should be provided within the text. If necessary, it may be within parentheses, as a separate sentence, or as a separate paragraph.
For citations with one author, made at the end of a statement, use the format (Binford 1962). For two authors, use the format (Gurova & Nachev 2008), and for more than two authors, (Julig et al. 1992). If a book, thesis, or other similarly long publication is cited, note the relevant pages as (Willey & Phillips 1958: 2). Note figures as (Willey & Phillips 1958: fig. 3). If more than one work is cited, use the following format (Binford 1962; 2001; Gurova & Nachev 2008; Julig et al. 1992; Willey & Phillips 1958: 2). With multiple citations, they should be sorted alphabetically and then chronologically. For citations within the text with one author, use the format Binford (1962). For two authors use the format Gurova & Nachev (2008) and for more than two authors use the format Julig et al. (1992). For example,
Binford (1962) discusses the role which archaeology plays within the field of anthropology.
Binford (1962) and Willey & Phillips (1958) have discussed the role which archaeology plays within the field of anthropology.
Several authors have discussed the role which archaeology plays within the field of anthropology (see for example, Binford 1962; Willey & Phillips 1958).
Do not use citation abbreviations such as ibid., op. cit., infra., or supra. Instead, show all citations (even those of the same source) as described above.
Do not combine citations to figures and tables that are part of your paper with citations to bibliographic references. For example, use the following (Crandell 2007) (see Figure 1), not (Crandell 2007; see Figure 1).
The list of references at the end of the text should be given in alphabetical order by the family name of the first author, followed by year, and then by title. Letters with accents and other diacritical symbols should be ordered as if they had no diacritics. If more than one reference by the same author was used, do not cluster them, but rather list each reference individually.
Titles which are not in English should indicate the primary language at the end of the reference, along with an English translation of the title. If an English title is provided in the original publication, this one should be used. Otherwise, the author of the manuscript should provide an adequate translation. Names of authors which do not appear using the Latin alphabet in the original publication should be transcribed into the Latin alphabet. If the author has written his or her name using the Latin alphabet in another publication, this spelling should be used. In cases where more than one Latin spelling is used by the original authors, the author of the manuscript should choose one and consistently use it. For example, Віктор Петрунь may be transcribed as either Viktor Petrun or Viktor Petrougne as both have been used in his publications. Names which use diacritics (such as accents) or extended letters of the Latin alphabet (for example the letters ð and þ used in Icelandic) should be written as they appear in the original publications. References to works published using non-Latin alphabets should include the original title, in the original alphabet, with a translation of the title into English at the end, as with other non-English titles.
References should be sorted
alphabetically but without the nobiliary particle (for example, von, van, de,
el). So, works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Simone de Beauvoir would both be
sorted by the letter B even though the surnames start with "van" and "de". Works
by Alexander von Humboldt would be sorted by the letter H. de Beauvoir, S. 1954, Les mandarins. Gallimard, Paris. (in French) ("The
Mandarins") von Humboldt, A. & Sabine, E.J.L. 1849,
Aspects of nature, in different lands and different climates with scientific
elucidations (3rd ed.). J. Murray, London, 301 p. When confusion may
occur between two authors with the same surname and the same first initial, the
given name of the author should be written in full in the references. For
example, Skinner, Alanson 1914, Notes on the Plains
Cree, American Anthropologist, New Series, 16(1): 68-87.
doi:10.1525/aa.1914.16.1.02a00060 Skinner, Anne & Rudolph, M. N. 1996, The
use of the E’ signal in flint for ESR dating, Applied Radiation and Isotopes,
47(11–12): 1399-1404. doi:10.1016/s0969-8043(96)00252-7 For all
publications which have a DOI, it must be noted in the references. This is an
obligation which the Journal of Lithic Studies has to CrossRef because our own
articles receive a DOI. Please check on Google for the titles of cited works. If
they have a web page, they may also have a DOI. You can also find many DOIs
through the CrossRef site. [http://search.crossref.org/references
] If you cannot find the DOI, note the URL and one of the layout editors will
look for it. If many references are missing their DOI, the layout editors may
send the paper back to the author for revision, thus delaying its publication.
If a stable URL for the article exists on the journal’s website or its official
indexing site (for example,
JStor), this should be included as well
in the reference. It is not required though. Do not abbreviate
the names of journals. Refer to personal
communications only in exceptional cases with preference given to highly
accessible works. If personal communications must be referred to, use the format
(personal communications with NAME on DATE). Do not list personal communications
in the references section. Authors are HIGHLY
recommended to use citation software (for example,
EndNote, Mendeley) to produce the
reference section of the article. If authors choose to create the reference
section manually, and it contains too many errors (in other words, it does not
conform to the instructions and examples given here or is missing information)
then the paper will returned to the authors for revision, regardless of
recommendations made by the reviewers. If the editors review the article a
second time and the bibliography still does not conform to proper format or is
missing information, then the authors will be requested to create the
bibliography using citation software. This will apply in particular to articles
with large bibliographies. The following is an
example of a references section listing several references in order. Binford, L.R. 1962, Archaeology as
Anthropology. American Antiquity, 28(2): 217-225. doi:10.2307/278380 Biró, K.T. 2006a, Carpathian obsidians:
myth and reality. In: Proceedings of the 34th International Symposium on
Archaeometry (Pérez-Arantegui, J., Ed.), Institución “Fernando el Católico”,
Zaragoza: p. 267-277. Biró, K.T. 2006b, Sources of Hungarian
petroarchaeological information on the internet. In: Stone Age - Mining Age;
Proceedings of the VIIIth International Flint Symposium, September 13-17 1999,
Bochum (Körlin, G. & Weisgerber, G., Eds.), Veröffentlichungen aus dem
Deutschen Bergbaumuseum Bochum 148; Der Anschnitt Beiheft Vol. 19. Deutschen
Bergbaumuseum, Bochum: p. 483-488. de Bruin, M., Korthoven, P.J.M., van der
Steen, A.J., Houtman, J.P.W. & Duin, R.P.W. 1976, The Use of Trace Element
Concentrations in the Identification of Objects. Archaeometry, 18(1):
75-83. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.1976.tb00146.x Comşa, E. 1975, Le silex de type
‘Balkanique’. Peuce, 4: 5–19. (in French) ("‘Balkanic’ type flint") Crandell, O.N. 2006, Macroscopic and
microscopic analysis of chert; A proposal for standardisation of methodology and
terminology. Buletinul Cercurilor Științifice Studențești, 12: 7-30. Dal, E.K. 2011, Telling a story. Using
narrative interpretations at archaeological exhibitions. Master thesis no.
1887/18370 at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, 143 p. Gurova, M. 2001, Функционален анализ на
кремъчен ансамбъл от селищна могила Капитан Димитриево. Археология
(Arkeologiya), 42(3-4): 38-47. (in Bulgarian) ("Micro-Wear Analysis of the
Flint Assemblage from Tell Kapitan Dimitrievo") Gurova, M. & Nachev, C.I. 2008, Formal
Early Neolithic flint toolkits: archaeological and sedimеntological aspects. In:
Geoarchaeology and Archaeomineralogy. Proceedings of the International
Conference, 29-30 October 2008 Sofia (Kostov, R.I., Gaydarska, B. & Gurova,
M., Eds.), Publishing House “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia: p. 29-35. Jarvis, H.W. 1988, INAA Characterization
of Onondaga Chert: A Preliminary Study in Western New York. Master of Arts
thesis at the Anthropology Department, State University of New York at Buffalo,
Buffalo, 81 p. Julig, P.J., Pavlish, L.A., Clark, C. &
Hancock, R.G.V. 1992, Chemical characterization and sourcing of Upper Great
Lakes cherts by INAA. Ontario Archaeology, 54: 37-50. Julig, P. J. 1995, The Sourcing of Chert
Artifacts by INAA: Some Examples from the Great Lakes Region. Journal of
World Anthropology, 1(2), Retreived: 09 October 2012. URL: http://wings.buffalo.edu/research/anthrogis/JWA/V1N2/julig-pap.html Odell, G.H., (Ed.), 1996, Stone Tools:
theoretical insights into human prehistory, Interdisciplinary contributions
to archaeology. Springer, New York, 401 p. Odell, G.H. 2000, Stone tool research at
the end of the millennium: Procurement and technology. Journal of
Archaeological Research, 8(4): 269-331. doi:10.1023/a:1009439725979 Odell, G.H. 2004, Lithic Analysis,
Manuals in archaeological method, theory, and technique. Kluwer Academic/Plenum
Publishers, New York, 262 p. Saini-Eidukat, B. & Michlovic, M.G. 2005,
Material Analysis of Lithic Flaking Debris. The Plains Anthropologist,
50(196): 159-167. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25670846 Skinner, Alanson 1914, Notes on the Plains
Cree. American Anthropologist, New Series, 16(1): 68-87. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/659500 Skinner, Anne & Rudolph, M.N. 1996, The use
of the E’ signal in flint for ESR dating. Applied Radiation and Isotopes,
47(11–12): 1399-1404. doi:10.1016/s0969-8043(96)00252-7 Weisgerber, G., Slotta, R. & Weiner, J.,
(Eds.) 1980, 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau. Die Suche nach dem Stahl der
Steinzeit, (1st ed.), Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum
Bochum Vol. 22. Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum, 672 p. (in German) ("5000
years of flint mining: The search for the steel of the Stone Age") Willey, G.R. & Phillips, P. 1958, Method
and Theory in American Archaeology. The University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 270 p.
References