The American Journal of Archaeology (AJA) is home to a community of scholars, and the journal’s mission is to showcase and safeguard their intellectual contributions. In keeping with the Archaeological Institute of America’s Code of Professional Standards, this policy sets limitations and rules concerning the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI (genAI) tools in AJA publications and is being instituted in response to the prevalence of the use of these tools in academic research and writing. The policy may be updated in the future in response to changing technology and/or norms. Please see the Letter from the Editors published in AJA 130.1 (January 2026) for more discussion of the potential harms of genAI use.
These policies apply to any content published in print and digitally by the AJA, including but not limited to articles, book reviews, and museum reviews.
Authors
The use of generative AI to write any part of a manuscript’s text or notes or to generate ideas that the author then claims as their own is prohibited.
The use of genAI tools to create artwork, drawings, etc. must be disclosed at the time of submission along with information about the rightsholders of the source material, and inclusion of this material is subject to the approval of the editors.
If authors use AI tools in the course of research (e.g., processing data, generating graphs), it must be disclosed at the time of submission and described in a footnote following the guidelines set forth in the Chicago Manual of Style. Any discussion of the results of research conducted using AI tools must be written by the authors.
Software that assists with grammar, spelling, or preliminary translation of your own words does not require disclosure.
As in the past, authors remain fully responsible for the originality, integrity, and accuracy of their work, regardless of whether AI was used in its completion. Submissions that appear to not comply with the AI policy will be subject to action including but not limited to required rewriting or revision, rejection (with or without peer review), and/or cancellation of publication.
Reviewers
Peer reviewers may not use AI for any part of their peer review process, including writing or improving a peer review report. Manuscripts and other materials should not be uploaded in full or in part (including the ideas or concepts) to generative AI tools. Doing so may violate the authors’ rights and confidentiality.