---
name: curranthro-tables-figures
description: Use when building exhibits for a Current Anthropology (CA) manuscript — photographs, maps, site plans, artifact images, kinship diagrams, transcripts, and evidence tables — so they are self-contained, ethically cleared (consent, permissions, heritage), within CA's figure caps, and submitted in the right file formats. Designs exhibits; it does not run analysis or clear permissions for you.
---

# Tables, Figures & Exhibits (curranthro-tables-figures)

At CA, exhibits do more than display numbers — a photograph, a map, a site plan, a kinship chart, or an
artifact plate can *carry* the argument across all subfields. They also carry **ethical and rights
obligations** that other fields' charts do not, and they are governed by CA's **per-type figure caps**
and **file-format rules** (figures submitted as separate TIFF or EPS files, not embedded PDFs). For a
Major Article under the **CA✩ Treatment**, an unclear or ethically problematic exhibit becomes a target
for published Comment — design exhibits that strengthen the argument and withstand scrutiny.

## When to trigger

- Designing the key photograph, map, site plan, artifact image, kinship/network diagram, or table
- Preparing a transcript or evidence table linking claims to sources
- Checking your figure/table count against the article-type cap
- A reviewer found an exhibit unclear, unlabeled, or ethically/rights-problematic

## Principles

1. **Self-contained.** A reader understands each exhibit from its caption, labels, and note alone —
   state place, date, what is shown, sample/N (for quantitative exhibits), and the source.
2. **The exhibit should argue.** A photograph or map that merely decorates wastes space; choose exhibits
   that advance the interpretation (a contrast, a spatial pattern, a relational structure).
3. **Consent & dignity.** People depicted have consented to that use; faces/identifiers are handled per
   the consent given (blur or anonymize where required). Do not publish images that expose or endanger
   interlocutors (see `curranthro-transparency-and-data`).
4. **Permissions & rights.** Secure permissions for archival images, museum objects, and others' media;
   credit lines and licenses are correct. Heritage/community rights over images of cultural property and
   ancestral remains are respected — some images should not be reproduced at all.
5. **Accessible.** Provide alt text / image descriptions; colorblind-safe and grayscale-legible where
   color carries meaning; legible transcripts with transcription conventions stated.
6. **Reproducible (quant exhibits).** Numbers in tables/plots match the underlying analysis exactly.

## CA figure caps & formats (checked 2026-06; verify live Instructions for Authors)

- **Major Article:** up to **12 figures and tables**.
- **Report:** up to **4 figures and tables**.
- **File format:** submit text and tables in a single word-processing file (`.doc`/`.rtf`, not PDF);
  submit figures (graphs and images) as **separate TIFF (`.tif`) or EPS (`.eps`) files**.

## Discipline-specific exhibits
- **Archaeology:** site maps, stratigraphic sections, artifact plates, distribution maps, chronologies.
- **Biological:** measurement plots with uncertainty, morphological figures, sampling maps.
- **Linguistic:** interlinear glossed transcripts (with conventions), discourse excerpts.
- **Sociocultural:** field photographs (with consent), kinship/network diagrams, evidence tables.

## Anti-patterns

- A photograph or map that decorates rather than argues
- Images of identifiable people without consent for that use; exposing vulnerable interlocutors
- Reproducing sacred/heritage objects or ancestral remains against community wishes
- Missing permissions/credit for archival or museum images
- Embedding figures in the text PDF instead of supplying separate TIFF/EPS files; exceeding the type's cap
- Quantitative exhibit values that don't match the analysis

## Output format

```
【Main exhibit】what it shows + why it argues (not decorates)
【Self-contained?】caption + labels + source + date/place present? [Y/N]
【Consent & rights】people consented / permissions secured / heritage respected? [Y/N]
【Accessible?】alt text/description + grayscale-legible + transcript conventions? [Y/N]
【Count & format】within cap (12 Major / 4 Report)? separate TIFF/EPS? [Y/N]
【Next】curranthro-writing-style
```

## Exhibit decision table (by subfield)

| If your exhibit is… | The first question an editor/commentator asks | The fix that clears it |
|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| A field photograph of people | Did they consent to *this* image being published? | Consent on file; blur/withhold per consent; caption with place/date |
| A map or site plan | Does it reveal a protected/sacred location? | Generalize coordinates; consult the community before publishing |
| An artifact plate / museum image | Are permissions and credits secured; is it heritage-sensitive? | Clear rights; respect community authority; some objects are not reproduced |
| An interlinear transcript | Are transcription conventions stated and glosses legible? | State conventions; align glosses; translate fairly |
| A quantitative plot (bio/archaeo) | Does it show uncertainty, and do values match the analysis? | Plot intervals/effect sizes; reconcile numbers to the source |

## Calibration anchors (hedged)

- At CA, **an exhibit is an ethical act**, not just a display: consent, heritage authority, and the
  dignity of the people shown can override the cleanest visualization.
- Figure/table caps and file-format requirements are set per article type — confirm the current
  Instructions for Authors and the Editorial Manager upload prompts before final submission.

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — mapping/GIS, image, transcription, and plotting tools
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — figure caps, file formats, permissions requirements