The American Schools of Oriental Research

Editorial Policy and Instructions for Contributors

This statement of Editorial Policy and Instructions for Contributors supersedes the Instructions for Contributors published in BASOR 262 (1986: 1-8).

All submissions should be sent to the editor.  

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR) is the scholarly journal of the American Schools of Oriental Research. As such, it will consider for publication manuscripts consistent with the broad areas of research and scholarship supported by the society. These include the art, archaeology, history, anthropology, literature, philology, and epigraphy of the Near East and eastern Mediterranean world from the Palaeolithic period through early Islamic times. The journal is published four times a year (in February, May, August, and November).BASOR is especially interested in reports of original research and discussions of problems raised through excavations or other research. The journal also publishes preliminary reports of ASOR-affiliated projects, articles analyzing the current state of scholarship in a field, and short notes on individual objects and research topics. Finally, BASOR publishes book reviews and review articles.Beginning with issue no. 295 (August 1994), BASOR will no longer publish articles that have appeared elsewhere in a language other than English. Also, the journal will not consider for publication a manuscript submitted elsewhere at the same time or accepted elsewhere for publication. Authors are reminded of an editorial policy instituted by this journal in 1978: BASOR will not serve as the initial place of publication or announcement of any object acquired by an individual or institution after 30 December 1970. This policy is in full accord with that established by the Archaeological Institute of America for its publications. The only exceptions to this rule are if the object was in a collection existing prior to 30 December 1970, or if it has been legally exported from the country of origin.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Except for the specific instructions here, the directives of The Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed.; Chicago: University of Chicago, 1993) should be followed.

Procedures for Submission and Evaluation of Manuscripts

1. Authors should submit manuscripts of articles and book reviews in triplicate. One copy must be an original; the other two may be photocopies. Authors may submit photocopies of drawings with all three copies, but an original set of photographs must accompany the original manuscript. Final drawings need not be sent until a manuscript is accepted or the editor requests their submission. There is no specific limitation on the length of a paper, but an author wishing to submit a paper longer than 60 manuscript pages (including notes, references, appendixes, and illustrations) should consult with the editor in advance.

2. The cover letter accompanying a manuscript should include the corresponding author's address, telephone number, fax number, and/or E-mail address. Authors who plan to be away from their usual address during the review and publication period should provide an alternate address, phone number, etc., to minimize delays in publishing the article.

3. A manuscript should be submitted in final form, with no substantive changes expected later. It should be typewritten, on one side of the paper only, using white paper of good quality, standard size (81/2' x 11") or A4 size (210 x 297 mm). Manuscripts prepared on a word processor should be printed on a letter-quality (preferably, laser) printer in Courier, Times Roman, or other standard font, in 10 point or larger type.

4. The manuscript must be double spaced throughout, including the abstract, text, figure captions, notes, appendixes, and references. Keep margins of at least I inch (2.5 cm) on all edges of the page. Leave the right margin of the text ragged (i.e., no right justification). Sections of the manu- script should appear and be numbered consecutively in the following order: title page; abstract; text; acknowledgments; notes to the text; appendixes; notes to the appendixes; references (in- cluding references from both the text and the appendixes); tables and notes to tables; figure captions. Figures should be included separately and are not paginated.

5. The title page should provide the title, authors' names, and professional addresses, in that order.

6. An abstract of not more than 150 words, focusing on the primary thrust of the article, should precede the body of the text. An abstract is unnecessary for a short note or review article.

7. A three-level outline usually is sufficient for articles. Use titles for all divisions rather than numbers. Please use these levels:

a. Centered, with all words fully capitalized, for major divisions;

b. Even with the left-hand margin and on a separate line, for important subdivisions; words in capital and lowercase letters.

c. Indented, as for a paragraph, and on the same line as the text, for minor subdivisions or where greater detail is needed; words in capital and lowercase letters.

8. Limit italics to such standard uses as for book titles, foreign words, and transliterations. Words to be printed in italics should be underlined once.

9. Quotations of eight or more typewritten lines in any language will be printed as a separate, indented paragraph and in type smaller than that used in the body of the article. Such quotations should be indented.

10. Spelling should follow standard American English conventions.

Evaluation and Publication Process

11. Manuscripts submitted to BASOR normally are sent to two referees, one of whom may be a member of the journal's editorial board. Referees evaluate the paper based on such criteria as the im- portance of the topic, the methodology of the author(s), and the quality and clarity of the writing; and they recommend whether the paper be accepted, rejected, or accepted with modifications.

12. If a manuscript is accepted, whether outright or with modifications, the editor advises the author on revising the article and preparing it for copyediting and publication. It is explicitly understood that any acceptance of a manuscript is conditional until the necessary additions and revisions have been made, and the editor considers the paper ready for publication.

13. Once final changes have been made to the paper, the author should submit a copy of the final draft on a 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" computer diskette as well as in hardcopy; the diskette copy facilitates editing and typesetting of the manuscript. The author should note on the diskette the format or software version of the file (e.g., ASCII text file, WordPerfect 6.0 for IBM-compatible PC, or Microsoft Word 5.1 for the Apple Macintosh).

14. The primary (or corresponding) author of an article usually receives the proofs. The author is responsible for checking the galleys against the manuscript and making necessary corrections. Changes must be limited to correction of typographical errors; substantive changes to the text at this stage are not permitted. The author does not receive copies of the revised page proofs.

15. Twenty-five offprints of an article or book review will be provided gratis to the primary author. Extra offprints are not available for articles that have multiple authors.

Languages other than English

16. BASOR can print Arabic, Aramaic, cuneiform, Cyrillic, Egyptian, Greek, and Hebrew text. However, avoid including long passages in languages other than English. If such sections are essential, include an English translation of the material that will preserve the nuance of the quotation as you are interpreting it. Also, while there currently is no charge for typesetting small amounts of cuneiform or Egyptian, authors will be charged a fee to,offset additional costs of printing larger quantities.

17. Although blocks of Hebrew and Aramaic text can be set in their proper characters, use the unpointed consonantal text whenever possible. Isolated words within English sentenees can be set in their proper characters when necessary. Transliteration, however, is sufficient for most articles. Transliteration of Hebrew and Aramaic is as follows:

17.1. - 17.5 (Please see BASOR 294 for instructions on the writing of special characters. These characters cannot be replicated adequately here.)

18.1 - 18.3 Transliteration of Arabic is as follows: (Ditto)

19. Place names should be written as follows: Unfamiliar Arabic site names and words should be written with diacritics. Familiar words such as "wadi" are spelled without diacritics except when e joined with a word having them. Biblical place names should be cited according to their spelling in the English Bible, without diacritics. When reference is made to modern toponyms or nonbiblical place names, an accurate transliteration of the name should be given.

20. Transliteration of Greek should be as follows: (See note sub 17.)

21. Transliteration of Ugaritic should follow the system of A Basic Grammar of the Ugaritic Language (S. Segert; Berkeley: University of California, 1984).

22. Transliteration of Akkadian should follow the system used in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the Universe of Chicago (Chicago: The Oriental Institute, The University of Chicago, 1955), or that of Akkadisches Handwörterbuch (W. von Soden; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965-1981).

23. Transliteration of Egyptian should follow the system of Egyptian Grammar (A. H. Gardiner; 3rd ed., London: Oxford University, 1957).

Numbers and Dates

24.1. In general, cardinal and ordinal numbers from one to ten should be spelled out; for larger numbers, use the figures.

24.2. Figures only should be used in the following instances:

a. In a series, if one or more of the numbers are greater than ten;

b. In mathematical, technical, scientific, or statistical usage; this includes measures of distance, volume, area, etc.: 1 km, 10 ha, 3°C, 2 hr. Abbreviations of such measures are not followed by periods (e.g., 10 km, not 10 km.).

24.3. Within the text, common fractions are written out: "two-thirds of the population. . . ."

24.4. Write out the word "percent" in the text, but use the symbol in headings for graphs or tables.

24.5. Use Arabic numbers in all figure and plate references, journal volume numbers, Egyptian dynasties, etc., except where confusion would result. This applies even when Roman numerals are used in the original publication. Do not change page references to Arabic in citing pages in introductions or prolegomena where lowercase Roman is used. Use Arabic numbers for volume numbers of multivolume works, except when the volume number is part of the title (e.g., Megiddo II).

24.6. First through tenth centuries should be written out; use figures for centuries higher than the tenth (fourth century; 12th century).

24.7. Use Roman numerals to indicate strata (Stratum XII; Strata IX-III), but Arabic numbers for related location designations (Locus 3, Phase 5).

24.8. Use Roman numerals for ancient rulers (Amenemhet III, Yarimlim I).

24.9 All measurements should be given in the metric system (e.g., 3 km, 0.5 m).

25. The standard designations in BASOR for historical and archaeological dates are B.c. and A.D. Authors who wish to use B.C.E. and C.E. may do so as long as they use the terms consistently.

26. Radiocarbon dates should be expressed as years b.p., b.c., or a.d. Calendrical estimates should be cited as CAL B.P., CAL B.C., or CAL A.D., and the calibration curve used to obtain the estimate identified. For calibrating dates, BASOR recommends the latest version of the computer software program CALIB 3.0, which was initially released in Radiocarbon 35 (1993). Include the laboratory code and sample number (e.g., BM2114) and appropriate publication information with the radiocarbon assay.

Abbreviations

27. Do not abbreviate archaeological terms: stratum, locus, level, area, phase, etc. These should be capitalized when they precede a specific reference (Stratum IX, Level 3).

28. Do not abbreviate archaeological time periods when they stand alone, e.g., Late Bronze Age. When they are followed by a specific subdivision, however, they should be abbreviated, e.g., LB 11, MB IIA, except that Iron Age should never be abbreviated.

29. Points of the compass are not abbreviated.

30. The following are commonly used abbreviations: fig(s.) chap(s)., no(s)., p(p)., m, cm, km, L (for liter or liters), ml, col(s)., pl(s)., v(v), n(n)., ca., mg, and kg. Do not abbreviate "line" or "lines" in discussions of inscriptions. Write Latin abbreviations and words in roman letters, not italics (for example, et ai., not et al.).

31. Use the abbreviations OT, NT, HB, LXX, MT, QL, Vg, OL, G, or OG (preceded by "the" when needed, but with no punctuation) for the terms Old Testament, New Testament, Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, Masoretic Text, Qumran Literature, Vulgate, Old Latin, Greek, Old Greek.

32. Titles of biblical books are not italicized. Standard abbreviations for them are to be used, without punctuation, only when both chapter and verse references follow: Gen 1:2, Exod 3:4, but not when only the chapter follows, e.g., Romans 8. There is no space after the colon. The colon should be used in referring to intertestamental literature and the Mishna. In references to Philo, classical, and patristic literature, the current English or Latin titles are to be used (italicized and abbreviated if possible, and without punctuation), followed by appropriate book, chapter, and paragraph numbers where available. Thus, Homer Il. 24.200; Eusebius Hist.eccl. 3.3-2. For Josephus, the following form is used: JW 2.8.16@160. Abbreviations for Josephus are: AgAp, Ant, JW, Life.

Tables and Illustrations

33. Keep tables as simple as possible. Captions should be short and explicit; explanatory material may be included in a note appended to the table.

34. Photographs and other illustrations must be of high quality. Whenever possible, submit illustrations in a form close to the anticipated published size. Avoid submitting exceptionally large illustrations. Any illustration that, in the judgment of the editorial staff, may not reproduce well in the journal may be removed, along with references to it in the text.

35. The author's name, top of the illustration, and figure number should be clearly indicated on the back of each photograph or line drawing. Mark lightly with a fiber-tipped pen to avoid distortions on the front of pictures. Indicate in the margin of the manuscript the approximate location desired for each illustration. Carefully mark any cropping that is desired, using a fiber-tipped pen or a soft pencil on the back of the photograph or on a sheet of paper attached to the photograph. Do not cut or mark on the front of the photograph.

36. Obtaining permission to reprint illustrations from another journal or a book is the author's responsibility. The editor may request written confirmation that permission has been received when illustrations from another work are submitted for publication. Include appropriate credit lines.

37. Number illustrations sequentially and designate line drawings, charts, graphs, and photographs as "figures" (do not designate any illustration as "plate"). Number tables in the separate sequence. Captions must accompany all figures and tables.

38. Line drawings should be prepared in black ink on absorbent material that will prevent blotching and running. Drawings may be submitted as glossy prints.

39. Submit figure captions on a page or pages separate from the body of the article. Include a statement of scale, if there is no scale on the figure itself.

Citations, Notes, and References

40. BASOR uses the author-date system of documentation in the text, endnotes, and reference list. References are incorporated, in parentheses, within the body of the article, citing the work by author's last name, year of publication, page, and plate or figure number. There is no space after the colon in figure or plate references. For example, "(Petrie 1934: pl. 14:25)," "(Gophna 1972: 48-59; Alon 1974: 28)," or "(McGovern, Fleming, and Swann 1991: 400-402)."

41. Papers that are "in preparation" or "forthcoming" should not appear in the list of references. If appropriate, a notation of "personal communication" may be included in the body of the text, e.g., "(A. Caubet, personal communication, 1992)." If a paper has been accepted and scheduled for publication, you may indicate that it is "in press" but do not give a publication date; include this type of citation in the list of references. You should update "in press" items in galleys, if the item has been published since you submitted your article.

42. Page citation should follow the style illustrated here: 100-105, 202-7; but 123-55, 532-85; 324-421. This system applies to any citation of numbered items, e.g., pl. 23:13-14; figure 3:11-15; A.D. 330-39; but 1230-1225 B.C.

43. Notes normally appear at the end of an article rather than at the bottom of a page. Where endnotes are included, number them sequentially in the text, using superscript numbers. Compile all notes at the end of the article but before the references. Citations within the notes must meet the same requirements as those in the main text.

44. Provide a separate, carefully compiled list of references of all works cited in the article, including those in figure captions. (Do not include publications that may have been used in preparation of the paper but are not cited in it.)

Include the following information, in full:
44. 1. Author(s) of the work, by last name(s) and initials. When more than one work by an author is included, arrange the entries chronologically; for more than one entry by an author in a single year, arrange them alphabetica!ly and modify the year citation with a, b, c, etc., as needed. All authors (or editors) should be identified. Two authors are separated by a comma; three or more authors are separated by semicolons.

44.2. Date of original publication.

44.3. Title of the work. Do not use quotation marks for article titles. Underline the titles of books and periodicals to indicate italics, observing whether volume numbers in multivolume series are included in the title (Megiddo II by Loud; but The Excavation of Tell Beit Mirsim I: The Bronze Age by Albright, 1938).

44.4. Edition quoted. Include original publication information for reprinted and translated works where possible.

44.5. Festschrifts. Note for whom the work was compiled.

44.6. Editors of collected works, symposia, festschrifts, etc.

44.7. Translator(s) and original language of work. Also include the edition from which the translation was made, and the year of that edition.

44.8. Series information, in full, if the work is part of one or more series. Series titles are not italicized.

44.9. Journal title and volume number. Write the complete journal title; do not use abbreviations.

44.10. Page numbers of articles in journals or books.

44.11. Publication information, including city, state (if necessary--for example, to distinguish Cambridge, MA, from Cambridge, England), and publisher. If a work is published jointly in the United States and another country, cite the American publisher only. Do not include the first name of a publisher; e.g., cite Aström, not Paul Aström. Eliminate the words "Press," "and sons," "and company" along with any unnecessary punctuation.

45. Certain common abbreviations may be used instead of the author's last name and date of publication. These should be italicized, e.g., CAD for The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicag, or CIS for Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum. If such abbreviations are used, the work should be cited in the references under the abbreviation, e.g.:
KAI = Donner, H., and Röllig, W.
1971 Kanaandäische und aramäische Inschriften. 3rd ed. 3 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

46. For references to classical literature, use the style indicated in The Chicago Manual of Style. Although such elements as authors' names, titles of works, and collections of inscriptions, papyri, and ostraca are often abbreviated, BASOR prefers that such abbreviations be minimized. Provide a list of abbreviations in a note. The most comprehensive list of classical abbreviations available may be found in the front of the Oxford Classical Dictionary, eds. N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard (2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1970).

47. Samples of reference entries.

Articles in Journals
Tushingham, A. D.
1992 New Evidence Bearing on the Two-Winged LMLK Stamp. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 287: 61-65.

Tsafrir, Y.
1970 Monks and Monasteries in Southern Sinal. Qadmoniot 3: 2-18 (Hebrew).

de Contenson, H.
1960 Remarques sur le chalcolithique récent de Tell esh-Shuna. Revue biblique 68: 546-56. (Note: Alphabetize this entry under the letter "d").

Books
Heltzer, M.
1976 The Rural Community in Ancient Ugarit. Wiesbaden: Reichert.

Fitzmyer, J. A., and Harrington, D. J.
1978 A Manual of Palestinian Aramaic Texts. Biblica et Orientalia 34. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute.

Crowfoot, J. W.; Kenyon, K. M.; and Sukenik, E. L.
1942 The Buildings at Samaria. Samaria-Sebaste: Reports of the Work of the Joint Expedition in 1931-1933 and of the British Expedition in 1935, no. 1. London: Palestine Exploration Fund.

Book in a Series
Bar-Yosef, O., and Khazanov, A., eds.
1992 Pastoralism in the Levant: Archaeological Materials in Anthropological Perspectives. Monographs in World Archaeology 10. Madison, WI: Prehistory.

Translated Work
Grimal, N.
1992 A History of Ancient Egypt. Trans. I. Shaw, from French. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

Article in an Edited Book
Gates, M.-H.
1987 Alalakh and Chronology Again. Pp. 60-86 in High, Middle or Low? Acts of an International Colloquium on Absolute Chronology held at the University of Gothenburg 20th-22nd August 1987, Part 2, ed. P. Åström. Gothenburg: Åström.

Mallowan, M.
1978 Samaria and Calah Nimrud: Conjunctions in History and Archaeology. Pp. 155-63 in Archaeology in the Levant: Essays for Kathleen Kenyon, eds. R. Moorey and P. Parr. Warminster: Aris and Phillips

Book Review
Esse, D. L.
1980 Review of Byblos in the Third Millennium B.C.: A Reconstruction of the Stratigraphy and a Study of the Cultural Connections, by M. Saghieh. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 51: 141-43

Kitchen, K. A.
1991 Review of Egypt, Israel, Sinai: Archaeological and Historical Relationships in the Biblical Period, ed. A. F. Rainey, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 77: 204-206

Unpublished Dissertation
Stager, L.
1975 Ancient Agriculture in the Judaean Desert: A Case Study of the Buqe'ah Valley. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University.

Unpublished Conference Paper
Held, S. O.
1993 The Sydney Cyprus Survey Project, 1992 - 1993: Archaeological Investigations in the North-Central Troodos, Cyprus. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental research, Washington.