Southeastern Archaeology Journal Image Policy

 (approved by the Executive Committee at the Business Meeting in November 2022; revised and approved by the Executive Committee in February 2023)

Moving forward, Southeastern Archaeology, the journal of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, will no longer publish photographs of funerary objects/belongings, expanding our existing policy against the publication of photographs of human remains. Any new submissions that include photographs of funerary objects/belongings will not be considered for review. Due to the length of the process involved in reviewing submissions for publication and the lag between online and print publications, manuscripts already under review/ accepted prior to this date will still be published as before. No photographs of this nature will appear in the journal after June 2023.

In lieu of photographs, authors may choose to include line drawings or other representations of funerary objects/belongings. Another option is to provide supplemental materials that could include photographs. These would be stored by SEAC with the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR), which is a digital archive that can provide a persistent link and would limit access to SEAC members.

As of January 1, 2023, any such representations to be published within the body of the article or to be included as supplemental materials must be submitted with written evidence that the authors consulted with Native Nations having ancestral ties to the archaeological region in question, or with evidence of the authors’ good faith effort to initiate such consultative discussions. This evidence must be included with the manuscript at the time of submission. Without associated support or evidence of good faith effort, the Editor will reject the manuscript without review.

We strongly encourage authors to reach out to associated Native Nations early in the development of their manuscripts. These should include all of the federally recognized Tribes that have an area of interest within the project area. To determine this list, we recommend reaching out to your SHPO, THPO, NAGPRA coordinator, or federal agencies with jurisdiction in the region. The most current contact information for THPOs can be found at https://grantsdev.cr.nps.gov/THPO_Review/ index.cfm.

To aid the process, SEAC is developing a template for authors to use as they initiate consultative discussions with the Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPO) of associated Native Nations. Minimum information to be supplied to the THPOs includes: the graphic(s) in question; information about the creation/history* of the graphic(s); and a copy of the manuscript for context. THPOs require 30 days to respond to the request. Out of respect for Native Nations, it is important to consider this timeline when planning your submission. If additional information is needed or consultation is requested, this could extend your timeline significantly. Notice of consultation with associated Native Nations for publication of the representations of funerary objects/belongings will be included in the Acknowledgments section of the printed article. A statement indicating that representations of funerary objects/belongings are included in the article will also be printed in the table of contents of the journal issue and on the first page of the article to inform readers.

At the Editor’s discretion, the author(s) may be asked to document that they have consulted with other affiliated descendant groups for graphics that may be of a sensitive nature. These descendant groups might include African American communities or state-recognized Native entities for projects that deal specifically with these entities.

Lack of compliance with the image policy may result in a permanent loss of the privilege to publish in Southeastern Archaeology.

*The creation/history of a particular graphic should include information about how and when it was created (from an existing photograph) and by whom, or information about its previous publication. Many Native Nations object to the creation of new line drawings directly from the funerary object/belonging itself, as it should be protected from additional handling. Early communication with the associated Native Nations to prevent any missteps is strongly encouraged.