96th Annual Meeting Abstract Submission
Abstracts for the 2026 conference are due by 11:59 PM PDT on October 15, 2026.
The abstract submission portal will open on September 15, 2026.
STEPS TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT
STEP 0: Read the Instructions
Please read the following instructions and the Guidelines for Preparing an Effective Abstract before starting the registration and submission process.
STEP 1: Membership
Visit the AABA Member Portal to either renew your membership or apply to join the AABA. Renewing/joining ensures you will receive the member conference registration rate. Please encourage coauthors to renew their memberships as well.
Note: It is not necessary to be an AABA member to submit an abstract, but the registration fees are much lower for members. Please direct questions concerning membership to the Membership Chair.
STEP 2: Conference Registration
From your Member Profile, click on “Register for AABA 2027” to complete your registration and pay your registration fee. Please direct questions concerning registration to aabaregistration@burkinc.com.
STEP 3: Abstract Submission
From your Member Profile, click on “Abstract Submissions.” You will be asked to complete a survey before entering your abstract information. Your feedback helps the Program Committee optimize your conference experience and “right-size” amenities such as childcare.
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE ABSTRACT
- There is no limit on the number of abstracts that an individual may coauthor; however, each person may be the first author of only one abstract. Every abstract must be associated with a unique first author (and email) who is registered for the meeting. Note: invited symposium and workshop proposals are not considered abstracts.
- Contributed research presentations should communicate new research results. Do not submit previously submitted or published abstracts.
- Abstracts should contain a clear statement of purpose, methods, results, conclusions, and significance to biological anthropology. (We are aware that many organizations accept abstracts without results, but the AABA does NOT.)
- As you prepare your abstract, please carefully review the language used to describe your research and be mindful of whether the abstract’s language may inadvertently contribute to the marginalization of underrepresented groups in biological anthropology.
- Abstracts are published in the conference proceedings exactly as submitted. Please proofread all components—title, text, author names and affiliations, and funding statement—carefully and have them reviewed by all contributing authors.
To avoid the rejection of your abstract, please DO NOT:
- Exceed the 250-word limit. This count applies to the text of the abstract only and does not include the title, authors, affiliations, or funding acknowledgments.
- Submit an abstract that is substantively similar to a presentation from a previous AABA meeting or other conference; self-plagiarism of a previously published abstract risks copyright infringement and, therefore, rejection.
- Submit an abstract without results. Abstracts should demonstrate that data have been analyzed. While abstracts that review or synthesize prior findings may be appropriate for symposia, if you have doubts, please contact the Program Chair before submitting.
- Submit an abstract with little or no relevance to bioanthropology. If you cannot clearly articulate the relevance of your findings to our discipline, your abstract may not be appropriate for AABA.
- Submit more than one first-authored abstract. Note: invited symposium and workshop proposals are not considered abstracts.
- Miss the submission October 15 submission deadline. This is a hard deadline with NO exceptions.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FIELDS
Session Chair: Check Yes if you are willing to chair a podium or poster session.
Student Presentation Award: Check Yes if you wish to be considered for an award. NOTE: you must also complete a separate form, whose link is provided in the field.
Invited Symposium: If the abstract is part of an accepted invited symposium, use the drop-down menu to select the symposium title. Failure to select this field may negatively affect evaluation of the abstract.
Abstract Title: Enter your title using sentence case capitalization. Subtitles should be capitalized and preceded by colons; proper nouns and taxonomic names should also be capitalized as appropriate. Do NOT enclose the title in quotation marks.
Example: The Homo erectus body plan: Understanding the role of limb proportions in bipedal locomotion
Abstract Text (250-word maximum): Paste your text into the abstract field. Please proofread carefully, paying particular attention to special symbols and formatting. Abstract content cannot be changed after October 15, 2026!
Funding Statement (Optional, 30-word maximum): Agencies often require acknowledgment by grant number for abstracts to be considered in final reports. Please do NOT enter additional abstract information or citations in this field.
Format: Select podium, poster, or no preference. Note: the Program Chair cannot guarantee authors’ preferences will be honored.
Venue: Select either In-person or Online.
Session Preferences: Use the dropdowns to select keywords reflecting the abstract’s content. Careful keyword selection helps ensure that the abstract is evaluated by the reviewers most qualified to assess its merits.
Author Information: Enter information for ALL abstract authors and indicate which is the presenting (first) author. Authors with Member Profiles can be selected for automatic entry. For assistance with coauthors who lack profiles, please contact the Program Chair at vicepresident@bioanth.org.
Note: the online submission system alphabetizes each author’s affiliations by default. If you have multiple affiliations that must appear in a specific order, please enter them all in a single field and notify the Program Chair at vicepresident@bioanth.org.
If you are registering for or submitting an abstract on behalf of someone else, do NOT use your own email address or contact information. You MUST use the presenting/first author’s AABA email address and contact information. You can use your own credit card and billing information for payment.
CONFIRMATION
The online system will email the registered first author a confirmation that the abstract submission was successful. Coauthors will also be notified that an abstract has been submitted in their name. Gmail addresses (personal or institutional) may filter this email as spam. If you do not receive your confirmation email within one hour of submission, please first check your spam filter, then email the Program Chair at vicepresident@bioanth.org.
ABSTRACT REVIEW
The Program Committee comprises AABA regular members in good standing and includes scholars from a range of fields within our discipline. Each abstract is read by at least three members of the Program Committee with appropriate expertise. Each reviewer ranks the abstracts on a scale of 1 to 3 (reject, low priority, high priority) and recommends the most appropriate presentation format (poster/podium). If two members recommend rejection, the abstract is reviewed by another member of the committee and by the Program Chair. Final decisions regarding abstract acceptance/rejection and presentation format rest with the Program Committee and Program Chair.
The AABA retains the right to reject any abstract. Decisions are final.
Notification of Abstract Acceptance/Rejection: Abstract decisions will be distributed via e-mail to the registered author in early December 2026. Submitting authors should notify their coauthors of the abstract’s final status.
QUESTIONS? Please email the Program Chair at vicepresident@bioanth.org.
ONLINE ASYNCHRONOUS PRESENTATION OPTION
If you are unable to attend the annual conference in person, you may choose the online presentation option. The Online Conference comprises poster PDFs and recorded presentations uploaded for asynchronous viewing as well as synchronous invited symposia and livestreams of the Presidential Plenary, select in-person invited podium symposia, and the Annual Business Meeting.
NOTE: If you choose to present online, your presentation materials must be uploaded to the virtual platform one week in advance of the conference.