Anthropology & Archaeology: Find Articles

What you search is highly dictated by your research topic. Coming up with keywords is often one of the hardest parts of research. If you need help, please ask!

• Knowing the jargon or terminology of your discipline can help you develop better search terms. Check out The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (3 ed.) or A Dictionary of Cultural Anthropology for essential vocabulary.
• Remember in anthropological research that some databases, particularly those that search historical documents may use keywords that are outdated or distasteful to contemporary researchers. For example, terminology for North American Indigenous populations has changed a lot over the years, from Indians to "Native Americans" to "First Nations."
• Remember also in anthropological research that spelling and word usage changes over time. A search for "Navajo" may miss articles that use the spelling "Navaho." Likewise, when searching for a term like "religion" consider using other words such as "cosmology", "ritual", "myth" -- these words may uncover some great material that you might miss by searching only for one term.

In addition to the best bets listed on the first page of this guide, here are some other more specific databases that might be helpful.