General Matters of Style
3.1
Spelling and Capitalization. The American style of spelling is to be used. When there are alternative ways of spelling a word, the first choice in Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Springfield, Mass. 1986) is to be preferred. Authors should be consistent in their use of capitalization. Overcapitalization should be avoided; many words that are commonly capitalized may be set in lowercase (see in general ChicagoMS15 §§8.21–163).
Most period designations, except for those including proper nouns and adjectives, are set in lowercase:
late antiquity
ancient Greece
imperial Rome
classical literature/architecture
But
Late Classical frieze
Cultural periods recognized by archaeologists based upon characteristic technology or typology are capitalized:
Bronze Age
Early Helladic period
Archaic period
Late Antique period
The names of specific buildings, monuments, artifact collections/groupings, and parts of cities are capitalized. Standing alone, such terms as "agora," "theater," "monument," "prytaneion," "fountain," etc., are set in lowercase. When part of an official or formal name, however, such terms are set in uppercase:
the East Gymnasium; the gymnasium
the Athenian Agora; the agora
Treasury of Athens; Athenian treasury
Excavation areas/units are set in lowercase:
stratum 3
level 2
trench a
The use of proper nouns as adjectives should be avoided unless such a construction has become conventional:
the Temple of Athena (not the Athena Temple)
-but-
Lucius Verus Monument
3.2
Numbers. Roman numerals are to be avoided whenever possible. Cardinal and ordinal numbers less than 10 should be spelled out. Arabic numerals should be used for all numbers 10 and above. If a number occurs in a phrase in which most of the numbers are above nine, use Arabic numerals for all:
first century
nine sherds
10th century
11 coins, 15 lamps, and 3 statuettes
Use Arabic numerals when referring to parts of text:
chapter 2 (ch. 2)
table 4
appendix 3
figure 9 (fig. 9)
3.3
Measurements. International units of measurements are to be preferred. All measurements should be expressed with Arabic numerals and abbreviated units unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence:
20 cm
Twenty-five kilometers from the site
If multiple dimensions are cited, they should be brought to the same decimal point, using the following format:
1.5 x 1.9 m
0.3-0.5 cm in height
Measurements and dimensions in running text and in tables do not have to be brought to the same decimal point.
3.4
Chronological references. Era designations are to be set in capital letters followed by periods and without spaces, never in small caps. AJA uses B.C.E. ("before the common era") and C.E. ("common era"), not B.C. and A.D.
All numerical dates are to be written in their entirety, except in cases of conventional epigraphic usage:
211–202 B.C.E.
117–138 C.E.
208/9 C.E.; 293/2 B.C.E.
References to decades should be identified by their century and expressed in numerals. No apostrophe is needed between the year and the 's':
240s
In citing radiocarbon dates, lowercase letters (b.p., b.c.e.) may be used for uncalibrated determinations, but it is advisable to specify this convention at the first mention in the text:
4000 b.c.e. (uncalibrated)
Modern dates should be cited as day/month/year, without punctuation:
15 January 1996
3.5
Abbreviations. Units of measure should be abbreviated in the text. Common abbreviations (such as fig., pl., e.g., i.e.) should be used in footnotes and parenthetical references within the text but otherwise written out in full:
Horizontal bands below the rim on the interior of bowls and lids (e.g., fig. 15) are common.
-or-
As can be seen in figure 15, for example, horizontal bands below the rim on the interior of bowls and lids are common.
-or-
1 See, e.g., fig. 15 for horizontal bands below the rim on the interior of bowls and lids.
3.6
Transliteration of Greek words and names. In the transliteration of Greek, most Latinate forms of Greek words or proper names that have come into general use may be employed. Authors are at liberty to use any system of transliteration that is intelligible and reasonably consistent, although the editors reserve the right to modify it to conform to current AJA editorial policy. Authors who wish to do so may follow the system recommended in AR 45 (1998-1999) inside cover. Systems for the transliteration of other languages may be found in G.F. von Ostermann, Manual of Foreign Languages, 4th edition (New York 1952).
3.7
References to classical literature. Latin titles are preferred, italicized according to the list of abbreviations given in S. Hornblower and A. Spawforth, eds., The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition (Oxford 1996; hereafter OCD3), followed by the appropriate book, chapter, paragraph, or line numbers, separated by periods. Authors' names and titles should be written out completely when appearing in the text, abbreviated when appearing in footnotes or parenthetical references within the text. Only the first word, proper nouns, and proper adjectives are to be capitalized:
As noted by Vitruvius (De arch. 2.3.3)
Vitruvius notes in De architectura (2.3.3)
1 Vitr. De arch. 2.3.3
3.8
Foreign terms and phrases. Familiar words and phrases in a foreign language should be set in Roman type unless there is a risk of confusion with an identically spelled English word:
in situ
terminus post quem
raison d’être
Weltanschauung
limes
Isolated words in a foreign language that are likely to be unfamiliar to readers, such as technical terms, should be set in italics throughout the text.
3.9
Inscriptions. Inscriptions should be marked according to the Leiden system, as outlined in A.G. Woodhead, The Study of Greek Inscriptions, second edition (Cambridge 1981) 6-11, and S. Dow, Conventions in Editing: A Suggested Reformulation of the Leiden System (Durham 1969). Inscriptions quoted within the text should be written with a division of lines corresponding to those on the stone:
Appearing in notes, inscriptions may be written continuously, with a single upright line ( | ) used to mark the beginning of each line and a double upright line ( || ) used to indicate the beginning of every fifth line:
|
