Contents

• Who Can Submit
• Types of articles JTAH.org Will Consider
• Submit an Article
• Article Guidelines
• Formatting Requirements
• Alternate Language Articles
• Writing Resources
• Required Writing Style
• Other Helpful Resources and Writing Guides
• Submission Process
• Online Search – Metadata Requirements
• Copyright Ownership
• Author’s Submittal Agreement
• Rights for Authors and JTAH.org
• Attribution and Usage Policies
• Personal Use Exceptions
• General Terms and Conditions of Use

Who Can Submit?

JTAH accepts manuscripts from authors conducting scholarly research at a graduate level and above regarding the general subjects of archeology and history that is relevant to the Texas Borderlands Region (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Northern Mexico) provided the author owns the copyright to the work being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners.

Types of Articles JTAH Will Consider

JTAH accepts manuscripts primarily of original research but will consider articles of critical reviews, critical essays, and evidence summaries covering topics in all fields of archeology and history that advances intellectual inquiry in the field.  Each manuscript submitted should investigate an original idea or set of ideas or circumstance, and may be empirical, critical, or theoretical in nature.

Critical reviews and critical essays should analyze and contribute an interpretation, or analytical perspective, or new theme or concept to a theory or body of work. Critical review essays may include essays about a collection of published scholarship papers.

• How to Submit an Article
• Guidelines
• Formatting Requirements
• Spanish Language Articles
• Writing Resources

Submit an Article

We invite researchers and authors to submit their manuscripts for review.  Manuscripts should be submitted in Word.docx file format.  Figures (in .jpg, .tif, or .pdf file format) and tables must be submitted as separate files. For complete details or questions regarding manuscript submission, please contact the Editors-in-Chief. The Journal of Texas Archaeology and History (JTAH) will publish original papers on the archaeology and 15th-20th century history of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and the four northern states of Mexico; we have coined this region the “Texas Borderlands”.  Authors should submit manuscripts to the Editor for consideration as substantive articles, comments (on previously published articles in the JTAH), or topical review essays. Book reviews will be solicited by the Editor.

Dr. J. Kevin Hanselka                   James E. Barrera, M.A.

Co-Editor-in-Chief                        Co-Editor-in-Chief

Article Guidelines

Authors shall submit their manuscripts electronically to the Editors as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file. A complete manuscript is one with a title, a short (750 words or less) abstract, main body with subdivisions, and completed photographic or drafted illustrations. Footnotes should be avoided, if possible, in the manuscript, unless approval is obtained from the Editors and Editorial Board for their use. In that case, footnote style should follow The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition (2010, http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html). References to published literature (by author, date, and page or figure number) should be placed in parentheses within the body of the text, with a full bibliographic citation at the end. Authors should also consult “Style Guide for American Antiquity” for information on style, table formatting, citations, and references.

(see http://www.saa.org/publications/Styleguide/styleframe.html).

Any accompanying tables shall be submitted as individual Microsoft Word files, and not embedded in the text. Any accompanying numbered illustrations for a manuscript are to also be submitted electronically to the Editor, as TIF, JPEG, PDF, or EPS files, preferably in full color and full resolution at a minimum of 600 dpi; photographs should be taken with a camera of a minimum 8-megapixel resolution. Any scanned graphics should be saved and submitted at no less than 600 dpi; drawings should be scanned at 600 dpi or greater. All illustrations are to be submitted as individual files, not embedded in the manuscript, and labeled consecutively, beginning with Figure 1.

The Editors-in-Chief reserve the exclusive right to evaluate manuscripts (with or without peer review) for appropriate subject matter and quality. Manuscripts may be returned to authors if they fail to meet editorial expectations and guidelines. Manuscripts are evaluated by the Editors-in-Chief in consultation with the Editorial Board and peer referees, as appropriate. Authors will be notified as soon as a decision is reached to accept (either with revisions or outright) or reject a manuscript. Final decisions regarding the publication of manuscripts rest strictly with the Editors-in-Chief.

Submissions are reviewed based on the following criteria:

Conceptualization

1. A core research question is posed, and is connected to or emerges from previous scholarship
2. A thesis is stated in the introduction, addressed throughout each section of the manuscript, and reiterated in the conclusion
3. The manuscript is well-structured and organized with labeled sections and sub-arguments introduced at the beginning of sections
4. A research methodology is identified and applied, and analysis is well-supported and relates to the core research question
5. The submission includes an informative abstract which contains the core research question, announcement of sub-topics, key findings (connected to chosen methodology), and thesis statement.

• Execution

1. The author’s voice is clear and consistent and sentence structure flows well
2. The author’s language reflects advanced and scholarly competency
3. The manuscript contains correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Formatting Requirements

• Articles must be composed in English using standard word processing software, such as MS-Word. Note that all submittals must be saved in MS Word.doc or .docx file format.
• All text should be double-spaced.
• Do not apply any special formatting or pagination to the text.  When approved by the Editors, the entire document including photographs, graphics, charts, tables and all other such elements will be formatted by the Publisher using the established JTAH “style”.
• No amplifying footnotes or endnotes. If, in your judgment, the text of such a note is crucial to your paper, please work it into the body of your article or contact the Editors-in-Chief for guidance.
• Long quotations should be indented from both left and right-margins.
• Manuscripts should be submitted in Times New Roman 12 pt.
• Do not add additional spaces or line breaks. Please note that your choice of font or other formatting will not be preserved when we prepare your article for publication.
• Include an abstract of no more than 500 words on the first page of your article.
• Include a list of 8 to 12 keywords that will be used to identify your work on the internet.
• Do indent the first line of a paragraph.
• Do not use right-justified margins.
• Do not use running headers or footers.
• Do number all pages.
• Do refer to photographs, charts, graphs and tables within the body of the manuscript text. The Publisher will place the referenced items appropriately close to the text reference as possible.
• Important Reminder: our primary publishing platform is digital.  Anything the author can create on a computer; we can include on the online publishing venues.  This includes, but is not limited to: very high-resolution photography, full color on each page, 3-D imagery, sound bites, video clips, etc. which will enhance the author’s thesis.  In addition, our printed publication includes color on every page and is much improved using high-resolution photography.  Authors are encouraged to include this in their article.

Alternate Language Articles

JTAH encourages the participation of researchers and historians working in Northern Mexico.   Additionally, we want to support our authors who desire their works to be available in Spanish.  JTAH.org will publish peer-reviewed or internally reviewed manuscripts in alternate languages as outlined in this section.  Note that all Editorial and Peer Review activities will be conducted in English.  Spanish language authors may convert their works into English using Google Translate or Microsoft Translate for initial review by the Editors. If accepted by the Editors, the authors will then be required to submit a professionally translated English version for peer review.  Authors shall make necessary changes to the manuscript in English and resubmit. When finally approved by the Editors the authors shall make approved changes to the Spanish version closely mirroring the approved English version and forward to the Editors for final review.  The final Spanish and English versions approved by the Editors will then be forwarded to the Publisher for publication.

Alternately, authors who have an approved English language article and wishes to be additionally published in the Spanish edition may submit their professionally translated Spanish version for review.  We hope that such efforts will serve to improve regional collaboration with our fellow researchers in Mexico.

Writing Resources

This section lists selected general resources that may be helpful to authors submitting work for publication.

Required Writing Style

• Footnotes: Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition (2010) http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
• Style, Table Formatting, Citations, and References: “Style Guide for American Antiquity”
• http://www.saa.org/publications/Styleguide/styleframe.html

Other Helpful Research & Writing Guides

• Cornell University Library. (2011). “How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography”
• Strunk, W. (1999). Elements of Style
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2011). The Writing Center
• The University of Washington. Odegaard Undergraduate Library. (2011). Writing & Research Center.

Submittal Process

All authors are required to submit their work electronically into our review system via email to the Co-Editors-in-Chief. Authors submitting their manuscript should provide their contact information in a cover sheet or transmittal email that includes: First and last name; email address; phone number; employer, institute, etc.; acknowledgment of copyright ownership.  The author shall provide the following details for each submission:

Keywords: Please include 5-12 keywords, and phrases, that best describe your submission. These are to make sure the article is discoverable on the internet and generate the most “hits” by individuals seeking information on those subjects.  See “Online Search-Metadata Requirements”.

Abstract: Please include an abstract that describes the nature of the work. Abstracts should be clear, and self-explanatory, and not exceed 500 words.

Cover Letter: Not required but is strongly encouraged.  The cover letter may be submitted as a brief statement of the purpose of your submission and include all additional relevant information regarding the submittal.

Deadline for Submissions: There is no deadline.  Manuscripts may be submitted at any time.  As a digital publication, we will add peer-reviewed and approved articles as they occur.  The current annual volume will be closed on December 31st and the next volume will open automatically on January 1^st. If your approved submittal misses the current volume, it may be included in the next one.

Revisions to Paper Submitted: Any revision to an existing submission should be made to the original file already submitted by an author, and not made as a separate, additional submission. Authors must contact the Editors-in-Chief to discuss coordination of the re-submittal to avoid confusion and duplication of effort.

Online Search – Metadata Requirements

When an article has completed the peer review process, authors shall provide JTAH.org with certain necessary information regarding their article prior to it being published online.  The required information, online search metadata, will be registered with the Directory of Open Access Journals plus other indexing agencies, such as the “Portal to Texas History” and “Index of Texas Archaeology” and tagged to the published article. Registering and tagging the article with this metadata will index the published article thus making it globally discoverable.  The widest possible audience searching via the online World Wide Web database for information relevant to their search parameters will locate matching articles.  Click here to fill out the online form which is required prior to publication.  When completed, the form automatically will be forwarded to the Publisher.  Additionally, the author should indicate which graphic (photo, chart, drawing, etc.) they wish to be associated with the article in online references and social media outlets.

Copyright Ownership

All material published by JTAH.org, whether for the Annual Volume or “Special Publications” are subject to the copyright requirements of JTAH.org and upon publication shall become the copyrighted property of JTAH.org.  Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their original works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer).  The act of submitting an article or other material for publication shall serve to document the author’s agreement that copyright is transferred to the JTAH.org when the manuscript is published by the JTAH. Acceptance of an article or other items for peer review by the Editors-in-Chief does not constitute a contract or agreement by JTAH.org to publish the article.  Copyright ownership of any rejected article or special publication shall remain with the author.  The decision to publish shall rest entirely with the Editors-in-Chief and their decision shall be final.   Note, the JTAH.org website serves as a distribution outlet for certain agencies and/or institutions.  Such publications are considered “distributed products” and will be found on a separate tab or web page entitled “Distributed Products”.  Copyrights for distributed products remain with the provider of that material.

AUTHORS’ Submittal Agreement on Copyright Transfer to JTAH.org, Inc.

By act of submittal of an article or “Special Publication” manuscript, the author or authors thereby indicate their full agreement of these foregoing Policies, requirements, stipulations and specifically including the transfer of Copyright ownership in full to the JTAH.org.

Authors seeking an exception or who have questions about use regarding the Publishing Policies and Fine Print must contact the Publisher. 

Rights for Authors and JTAH.org

As further described in the submission agreement (“Submission Agreement”), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors assign to JTAH.org all copyright in the article, subject to the expansive personal-use exceptions described below.

Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium is permitted by a personal-use exemption granted by JTAH.org, requires credit to JTAH.org as copyright holder (e.g., Journal of Texas Archeology and History.org © 2020).

Personal-use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from JTAH.org provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

1. Storage and back-up of the article on the author’s computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
2. Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
3. Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open-access institutional repository or other non-commercial open-access publication site affiliated with the author(s)’s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota’s Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
4. Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

Please note: “Publication” in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. By submitting material to JTAH.org, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at JTAH.org. If you have concerns or questions about the submission terms for JTAH, please contact the Co-Editors-in-Chief.

General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the JTAH.org website and/or publications agree not to misuse the JTAH.org product in any way.

The failure of JTAH.org to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the Policies does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies constitute the entire agreement between JTAH.org and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.