Three citation styles that are commonly used in humanities and social sciences classes are the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style, and the APA Style. As you write for different classes, you can use the official style guides or an excellent resource for students that was developed at Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL). Be sure to check with your professor which citation they require.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, is now the style preferred by the American Anthropological Association. From the link in this paragraph, you will access a searchable Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed, with an index. Use the gray search box in the upper right corner of the resource in order to find how to cite books, journals, maps, museum exhibitions, paintings, and sculptures, for example. To see examples provided by the American Anthropological Association, see the AAA Style Guide.
The APA Style Manual (PennKey protected version; free version) was developed by the American Psychological Association and is a style preferred by many social scientists. APA style recommendations often leave out common citations in anthropology, including artifacts, museum installations, and wall text. However, APA is flexible enough that you can build a "frankenreference": a reference to a citation not explicitly spelled out in the style manual. The examples below are some suggested frankenreferences for anthropologists using APA style.
The four core elements of an APA citation are: the author, the date, the title, and the source.
Kirk, S. (2019). Excavation attempts for 1990s South Jersey time capsules placed by adolescents with poor judgment [Map]. Burlington County Historical Society.
Sometimes, elements of a citation are missing. What to do in these circumstances is described in detail in the 7th edition of the APA Style guide, section 9.4, pg. 283-284. Examples of various circumstances are below.
| Missing | Example |
|---|---|
| No author |
In many cases, an organizational or corporate author can be identified and used in place of individual authors. Use "Anonymous" as an author only when the author has been explicitly defined as Anonymous. In all other cases, use the below example for a template.
Excavation attempts for 1990s South Jersey time capsules placed by adolescents with poor judgment [Map]. (2019). Burlington County Historical Society. |
| No date | Kirk, S. (n.d.). Excavation attempts for 1990s South Jersey time capsules placed by adolescents with poor judgment [Map]. Burlington County Historical Society. |
| No title | Kirk, S. (2019). [Map showing the probable location of a time capsule in South Jersey]. Burlington County Historical Society. |
| No author or date | Excavation attempts for 1990s South Jersey time capsules placed by adolescents with poor judgment [Map]. (n.d.). Burlington County Historical Society. |
| No author or title | [Map showing the probable location of a time capsule in South Jersey]. (2019). Burlington County Historical Society. |
| No date or title | Kirk, S. (n.d.). [Map showing the probable location of a time capsule in South Jersey]. Burlington County Historical Society. |
| No author, date, or title | [Map showing the probable location of a time capsule in South Jersey]. (n.d.). Burlington County Historical Society. |
A source depicts where the citation can be retrieved. One circumstance in which there may be no retrievable source would be a personal communication: an interview with a subject not recorded for public use. In APA style, personal communications do not appear in the reference list, but they do appear in in-text citations.
(S. Kirk, personal communication, November 1, 2019)
A much more extensive list of examples can be found in the 7th edition of the APA Style Manual, chp. 10.
Runnels, C. N. (1982). Flaked-stone artifacts in Greece during the historical period. Journal of Field Archaeology, 9(3), 363-373. https://doi.org/10.2307/529670
Gorelick, L., & Gwinnett, A. J. (1981). The origin and development of the ancient near eastern cylinder seal: A hypothetical reconstruction. Expedition, 23(4), 17-30. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-origin-and-development-of-the-ancient-near-eastern-cylinder-seal/
Wilford, J. N. (2002, January 8). Seeking Polynesia's beginnings in an archipelago of shards. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/08/science/seeking-polynesia-s-beginnings-in-an-archipelago-of-shards.html
Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (2012). Archaeology: Theories, methods, and practice (6th ed.). Thames & Hudson.
Inhorn, M. C., & Wentzell, E. A. (Eds.). (2012). Medical anthropology at the intersections: Histories, activisms, and futures. Duke University Press.
Rapp, R., & Ginsburg, F. (2012). Anthropology and the study of disability worlds. In M. C. Inhorn & E. A. Wentzell (Eds.), Medical anthropology at the intersections: Histories, activisms, and futures (pp. 163-182). Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822395478-011
Foxhall, L. (2007). Olive cultivation in ancient Greece: Seeking the ancient economy. Oxford University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/upenn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=415603
Schweitzer, T. (2010). Philadelphia foodways ca. 1750-1850: An historical archaeology of cuisine (Publication No. 3431172) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
American Anthropological Association. (2015). Familiar/strange: 2015 annual report. https://s3.amazonaws.com/rdcms-aaa/files/production/public/FileDownloads/pdfs/about/Annual_Reports/upload/2015AAA_AnnualReport.pdf
Fuertes, E. A. (1872-1873). Mexican Indian languages: vocabularies of the Zapoteco from Suchitan, Zoque from Chimalapa and Mixe from Guichicori [Unpublished manuscript]. Berendt-Brinton Linguistic Collection (UPenn Ms. Coll. 700, Item 107.). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania. http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/9940733833503681
A source depicts where the citation can be retrieved. One circumstance in which there may be no retrievable source would be a personal communication: an interview with a subject not recorded for public use. In APA style, personal communications do not appear in the reference list, but they do appear in in-text citations.
(S. Kirk, personal communication, November 1, 2019)
When an interview can be retrieved (e.g., in audio, video, or transcript form) from a source like YouTube, it can be cited in a reference list. For an interview that has not been stored where others can access it, per APA Manual 6th edition, cite it instead as personal communications in text only.
Kirk, S. (2019, March 1) Interview with Sam Kirk - part I (D. Stewart, Interviewer) [.mp4] Retrieved from https://mediaspace.library.upenn.edu/media/0_xre417sl
Domínguez, H. P., & Reguera, P. H. (1972). Palma del Río [Map]. MAGNA 50: Mapa geológico de España a escala 1:50.000 (2nd series, sheet 942). Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. http://info.igme.es/cartografiadigital/datos/magna50/pdfs/d9_G50/Magna50_942.pdf
Lessing, E. (n.d.). Family returning from fieldwork along the banks of the Nile [Photograph]. Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives, ARTSTOR (SSID 18145600). https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/LESSING_ART_10313455305
Harris, H., & Bridenbach, G. (Directors). (2004). The Nuer [Film]. Documentary Educational Resources. (Original work published 1970)
IT University of Copenhagen. (2018, February 26). Sarah Pink: Digital ethnography [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ugtGbkVRFM
Bostrom, P. A. (2014, February 28). Axes & celts style variation worldwide. Lithic Casting Lab. http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2014marchaxestylespage1.htm
Penn Museum. (2019, November 1). Early Copan acropolis program. https://www.penn.museum/research/project.php?pid=7
Digital Egypt for Universities. (2002). Basketry. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/Welcome.html
The APA Style Manual was developed by the American Psychological Association. APA style recommendations often leave out common citations in anthropology, including artifacts, museum installations, and wall text. Such content is often covered in more detail in other citation styles, like the Chicago Manual of Style. Strangely, the 6th edition of the APA Style Manual includes suggestions on documenting archival works (section 7.10), but the 7th edition is less detailed on this subject.
However, APA is flexible enough that you can build a "frankenreference": a reference to a citation not explicitly spelled out in the style manual. The examples below are some suggested frankenreferences for anthropologists using APA style.
Rose, C. B. & Darbyshire, G. (2016). The golden age of King Midas exhibition catalogue. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Hickman, J. (2016). Gold the first day. In C. B. Rose & G. Darbyshire (Eds.), The golden age of King Midas exhibition catalogue (pp. 60-63). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Many museums will have their own guidance on how to cite their objects. Consult their websites first to see if they recommend certain features of their records be included in your citation, and then use APA's general principles to order the items in your citation. See examples on citation guidelines from the Penn Museum and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Bogner, S., Schmitt, P., & Voigt, J. (2016). Raising robotic natives [Installation]. Designs for Different Futures, October 22, 2019 - March 8, 2020. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
[Human effigy vessel]. (1200-1500). Moundbuilders: Ancient Architects of North America, June 24, 2017 - April 26, 2020 (Object 11586). Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, United States. https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/29104
[Anasazi jar lid]. (n.d.). Penn Museum collections storage (Object 23019). Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, United States. https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/318098
For information retrieved from a catalog card in the Museum Registrar's Office, rather than from the online collections database:
[Catalog card for Anasazi jar lid]. (n.d.). Penn Museum Registrar's Office (Object 23019). Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
[Object label for Highway 557 Through the Plaza, 2013, by Jenny Ellerbe]. (2017). Moundbuilders: Ancient Architects of North America, June 24, 2017 - April 26, 2020. Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
[Wall text for bone decorative items]. (2017). Moundbuilders: Ancient Architects of North America, June 24, 2017 - April 26, 2020 (Objects SAM-2016-2-4.1, SAM-2016-2-7.3). Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
[Wall text for Mississippian ceramics]. (2017). Moundbuilders: Ancient Architects of North America, June 24, 2017 - April 26, 2020. Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Samantha Kirk
Information Literacy Librarian
for Penn Libraries, 2011-2020
