Publications: Information for Authors

PCAS publishes the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly . This is a peer-reviewed journal publishing papers in the field of archaeology and related disciplines concerning the Pacific Coast and adjacent areas.

Submissions

Papers submitted for publication may not be previously published or be submitted elsewhere concurrently. Authors need to submit the following to be considered for publication:

  1. An electronic MS Word file (preferred) of the paper (including an abstract and all tables).
  2. Electronic copies of figures including photos at high resolution.
  3. A list of keywords for the submitted article.
  4. A signed Publication Agreement & Copyright License.
  5. A short bibliography statement for each author for the About Authors section not to exceed 75 words.
  6. Suggestions for 3 or more reviewers qualified to review the paper with email addresses.

Manuscripts are published in the approximate order of receipt within the limits of space demands, issue balance, and needs of time-related material. Submit individual manuscripts to Publications@pcas.org or PCAS, Publications Committee, P O Box 10926, Costa Mesa, CA 92627.

Guest editors organize the manuscripts for an entire issue, usually around a single topic or focus. The guest editor may help authors prepare their manuscripts, select the peer reviewers for their volume and will communicate closely with the Publications Committee.

Organization

PCAS had adopted the American Antiquity style guide. Refer to it at http://www.saa.org/Publications/StyleGuide/styleGuide.pdf.

Review Process

Manuscripts are reviewed twice. The first review is conducted by members of the Publications Committee, with the purpose of providing feedback to authors as soon as possible. The manuscript may be returned for corrections and additions, or it may be returned with suggestions for publication in other journals with more appropriate subject areas.

After the manuscript has been determined to contain original information that would be of interest to the readers, it is sent to reviewers outside of the Publications Committee who are familiar with the topic or study area. These reviewers are anonymous. The outside peer reviewers may suggest changes or have comments. Reviewers' comments are provided to the authors along with an evaluation summary and a tentative decision to accept or deny publication.

The author will make any necessary revisions of the manuscripts after receiving peer-review comments and editing notes. The author will send the final version electronically.