Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
Anthropology Plus is a bibliographic research database hosted on the EBSCOhost platform that indexes international scholarly literature across anthropology, archaeology, and related fields. It merges two reference catalogues: Harvard University’s Anthropological Literature and the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Anthropological Index Online. Researchers, curators, and librarians use the Anthropology Plus database to identify journal articles, reports, edited volumes, and obituaries from the late eighteenth century to the present day.
Scholars working across sociocultural, biological, and linguistic domains (as described in our guide on what is anthropology) often require indexing beyond standard multidisciplinary repositories. Anthropology Plus preserves access to historical, regional, and museum-based publications across two centuries of field research.
Who Runs It and What It Covers
Anthropology Plus is distributed by EBSCO Information Services on the EBSCOhost platform. Its bibliographic indexing is produced collaboratively by two institutions:
- Harvard University (Tozzer Library / Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology): Harvard produces Anthropological Literature, indexing materials from Tozzer Library (founded in 1868 as the Peabody Museum Library). Holding over 250,000 volumes, Tozzer Library is one of the world’s oldest dedicated anthropology collections. Its component indexes more than 660 journals and over 670,000 articles from the eighteenth century to the present, with strengths in North American, Mesoamerican, and Andean archaeology and ethnography.
- The Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI): The RAI publishes the Anthropological Index Online (AIO) in cooperation with the Anthropology Library and Research Centre at the British Museum. AIO draws on the British Museum Library’s holdings of roughly 4,000 periodicals (1,500 current subscriptions), continuously indexing nearly 650 journals in over 40 languages from 1957 onward. AIO also indexes ethnographic documentary films in the RAI collection.
Together, these sources provide worldwide coverage across cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, material culture, ethnology, folklore, and linguistics. Disciplinary overlaps with institutional sociology (examined in our comparison of sociology vs anthropology) are reflected in indexing across demography, economics, and religion.
The database receives monthly updates. Its international scope spans more than 50 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Slavic languages, and Asian languages with indexed summaries.
| Database Resource | Producing Organization | Base Collection | Temporal Range | Indexed Periodicals | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropology Plus | EBSCO Information Services | Harvard Tozzer + British Museum / RAI | Late 18th c. to present | 1,200+ unique titles | Unified search; monthly updates; 50+ languages |
| Anthropological Literature | Harvard (Peabody Museum / Tozzer) | Tozzer Library collections | 18th c. to present | 660 journals (670,000+ articles) | Deep retrospective indexing; Americas focus |
| Anthropological Index Online (AIO) | Royal Anthropological Institute & British Museum | British Museum Anthropology Library | 1957 to present | Nearly 650 continuously indexed journals | Ethnographic film records; European and Commonwealth focus |
How to Search or Use It
Anthropology Plus uses EBSCOhost search features. Using targeted field codes and operators ensures precise discovery:
- Access the Platform: Sign in through your institution’s library portal or proxy server. In the database list, select “Anthropology Plus” (system code
ant). - Open Advanced Search: Click “Advanced Search” below the main search box to display multi-row search fields and Boolean menus (
AND,OR,NOT). - Use Two-Letter Field Codes: Enter field codes to focus your query:
AU(Author): Search by surname and initial (for example,AU Boas, Franz).TI(Article Title): Target terms in the title (for example,TI "potlatch").SUorDE(Subject Descriptors): Search indexer-assigned vocabulary (for example,SU "kinship").SO(Source Journal): Filter by publication title (for example,SO "American Anthropologist").AB(Abstract): Search abstracts for conceptual terms.PY(Publication Year): Specify single years or ranges (for example,PY 2020-2025).
- Apply Truncation and Proximity Operators: Use an asterisk (
*) for stemming (for example,ethno*retrieves ethnography and ethnology). Use proximity operators such asN3(near within 3 words, any order) orW2(within 2 words, exact order) to locate related phrases. - Refine with Limiters: In the left filter panel, limit results by Peer Reviewed status, publication date slider, document type (article, report, essay), or language.
- Connect to Full Text via Link Resolvers: Click the institutional OpenURL button (such as “Find It at My Library”) on any citation to check electronic access, repository copies, or interlibrary loan.
- Export Bibliographic Citations: Add selected citations to the session folder and click “Export” to download RIS files (for Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley) or BibTeX records.
Strengths and Limits
When selecting research databases, consider the following structural characteristics:
Strengths
- Retrospective Historical Depth: Digital indexing extends to the late eighteenth century, documenting early anthropological literature unavailable in modern commercial databases.
- Regional and Museum Indexing: Indexes society transactions, museum bulletins, and specialist monographs from Harvard and British Museum holdings.
- Multilingual Scope: Covers publications in over 50 languages, facilitating non-Anglophone literature discovery.
- Film Records: Indexes anthropological and ethnographic documentary films catalogued by the RAI.
Limits
- Bibliographic Index Only: Does not host full-text PDFs directly; relies on external subscriptions and link resolvers.
- No Citation Metrics: Unlike citation indexes such as Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) or Scopus, Anthropology Plus does not track citation counts, impact factors, or forward citations.
- Subscription Required: Accessible primarily through institutional licenses, though the standalone AIO portal offers open web searching.
- Dual Taxonomies: Because records stem from Harvard and RAI systems, some historical subject descriptors vary between collections.
Alternatives
Researchers should compare Anthropology Plus with complementary bibliographic and full-text platforms:
| Platform | Model | Disciplinary Focus | Citation Tracking | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropology Plus (EBSCOhost) | Bibliographic index | Anthropology, archaeology, material culture | No | Deepest historical coverage (18th c. to present); Tozzer + RAI collections |
| AnthroSource (AAA / Wiley) | Full-text publisher archive | AAA journal portfolio | Basic metrics | Direct full text for 32 American Anthropological Association journals |
| Social Sciences Citation Index (Clarivate) | Citation index | Multidisciplinary social sciences | Comprehensive citation tracking | Calculates Journal Impact Factor; tracks forward and backward citation networks |
| Scopus (Elsevier) | Citation index | Multidisciplinary sciences and social sciences | CiteScore and citation counts | Broad contemporary journal indexing with author profiles |
| JSTOR | Full-text archive | Humanities and social sciences | No | Searchable archival backfiles with OCR full text |
When archiving empirical field datasets or survey materials, researchers also use platforms such as the CESSDA Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives, adhering to standards outlined in our guide on social science research ethics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Anthropology Plus and AnthroSource?
Anthropology Plus is an international bibliographic index combining Harvard Tozzer Library and Royal Anthropological Institute records across 50+ languages dating to the late 18th century. AnthroSource is a full-text digital archive specifically publishing 32 American Anthropological Association (AAA) journals through Wiley.
Does Anthropology Plus include full-text articles directly?
No. Anthropology Plus is an indexing and abstracting database. It provides citations and abstracts, relying on institutional OpenURL link resolvers to connect researchers to subscribed full-text platforms, open-access repositories, or interlibrary loan services.
How often is the Anthropology Plus database updated?
EBSCO Information Services updates Anthropology Plus on a monthly basis, adding newly catalogued records from Harvard University and the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Can independent scholars access Anthropology Plus without a university login?
Because Anthropology Plus is an institutional subscription database on EBSCOhost, independent scholars cannot buy individual accounts. However, researchers can use onsite visitor access at subscribing university libraries or search the free Anthropological Index Online (AIO) web interface hosted by the Royal Anthropological Institute.
What field codes work best for precision searching in Anthropology Plus?
Core EBSCOhost field codes include AU (Author), TI (Title), SU or DE (Subject Terms), SO (Source Journal), AB (Abstract), and PY (Publication Year), combined with uppercase Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).
Sources
- EBSCO Information Services. “Anthropology Plus Database Overview.” Product Documentation. URL: https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/anthropology-plus (read 2026-11-07).
- Harvard Library. “Anthropological Literature Service Profile.” Peabody Museum and Tozzer Library Services. URL: https://library.harvard.edu/services-tools/anthropological-literature (read 2026-11-07).
- Royal Anthropological Institute. “Anthropological Index Online (AIO).” In cooperation with the Anthropology Library and Research Centre at the British Museum. URL: https://aio.therai.org.uk/ (read 2026-11-07).
- EBSCO Information Services. “EBSCOhost Field Codes and Search Syntax Documentation.” Support Center. URL: https://connect.ebsco.com/s/article/EBSCOhost-Field-Codes (read 2026-11-07).
