American Journal of Biological Anthropology

American Journal of Biological Anthropology
DisciplineBiological anthropology
LanguageEnglish
Edited byConnie Mulligan
Publication details
Former name
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
History1918–present
Publisher
FrequencyMonthly
2.0 (2024)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4Am. J. Biol. Anthropol.
Indexing
ISSN0002-9483 (print)
1096-8644 (web)
LCCN2015204311
OCLC no.1480176
Links

The American Journal of Biological Anthropology[1] (previously known as the American Journal of Physical Anthropology)[1] is a peer-reviewed scientific journal and an official journal of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. It was established in 1918 by Aleš Hrdlička (U.S. National Museum, now the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History). It covers the field of biological anthropology, a discipline which Hrdlička defined in the first issue as "the study of racial anatomy, physiology and pathology."[2] The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology was the original publisher.[3][4] 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 American Association of Biological Anthropology also publishes a meeting supplement to the AJBA, along with a second official journal, the Yearbook of Biological Anthropology (formerly the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology).

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 on the journal's editorial board, and used his connection to Madison Grant to obtain funding for his new journal.[5] Hrdlička was deeply suspicious of genetics and statistics; not even standard deviations were allowed into his journal during his 24 years as editor-in-chief.[6] 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 AJBA has grown and developed into research areas far beyond its origins. It publishes research in areas such as human paleontology, osteology, anatomy, biology, genetics, primatology, and forensic science.

Impact

In 2009, the journals were 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, The BMJ, Journal of Paleontology, JAMA, Journal of Zoology, Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Science.[7] According to the Journal Citation Reports, the 2020 impact factor of the AJPA and the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology combined was 2.868, ranking the journals 15th out of 93 in the category "Anthropology"[8] and 27th out of 50 in the category "Evolutionary Biology." [9] Additionally, the combined Association journals earned the most citations in the category "Anthropology" each year for over a decade.[8]

In 2023, the combined AJBA-Yearbook of Biological Anthropology impact factor was 1.7, down from 2020 due to their reindexing post-name change.[10]

Editors of the American Journal of Biological Anthropology

Yearbook of Biological Anthropology

Yearbook of Biological Anthropology
DisciplineBiological anthropology
LanguageEnglish
Edited bySheela Athreya, Graciela S. Cabana
Publication details
Former name
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology
History1945–present
Publisher
FrequencyAnnually
Yes
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4Yearb. Biol. Anthropol.
Indexing
ISSN0096-848X
Links

The Yearbook of Biological Anthropology is an official peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists that is published annually. The Yearbook provides "in-depth coverage of the most salient issues in Biological Anthropology. Articles range from scientific pieces that fall squarely within life science models of Biological Anthropology, to theoretical ones that challenge the discipline to see itself in more expansive ways." [11]

Editors of the Yearbook of Biological Anthropology [12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b Info pages about the renaming are: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/26927691/homepage/productinformation.html and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26927691
  2. ^ Dewar, Elaine (2004). Bones: Discovering the First Americans. Basic Books. p. 640. ISBN 978-0-7867-1377-6.
  3. ^ "Science: Benefactor of Science". Time. 13 December 1937. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  4. ^ Radick, Gregory (2008). The Simian Tongue: The Long Debate about Animal Language. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. 578. ISBN 978-0-226-70224-7.
  5. ^ Barkan, Elazar (1993). The Retreat of Scientific Racism: Changing Concepts of Race in Britain and the United States Between the World Wars. Cambridge University Press. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-521-45875-7.
  6. ^ Mann, Charles C. (2006). 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Detroit, Michigan: Vintage. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4000-3205-1.
  7. ^ American Journal of Botany (17 June 2009). "American Journal of Botany named a top 10 most influential journal of the century". FirstScience News. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Journals Ranked by Impact: Anthropology". 2020 Journal Citation Reports. Web of Science (Science ed.). Thomson Reuters. 2021.
  9. ^ "Journals Ranked by Impact: Evolutionary Biology". 2020 Journal Citation Reports. Web of Science (Science ed.). Thomson Reuters. 2021.
  10. ^ "American Journal of Biological Anthropology". 11 March 2026.
  11. ^ Sussman, Robert W. (2009). "Preface". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 140: 1. doi:10.1002/ajpa.21196. PMID 19890856.
  12. ^ Little, Michael A (2010). Histories of American physical anthropology in the twentieth century. Lexington Books. pp. 155–172. ISBN 978-0-7391-3511-2.
  13. ^ ""Yearbook of Biological Anthropology"". bioanth.org. 11 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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