You are invited to submit an abstract for a paper or poster on any aspect of computer applications or quantitative methods in archaeology for presentation at CAA’s 52nd conference to be held in Athens, Greece. Authors of papers and posters will select from one of more than 50 sessions being organised. Proposals must be received by 24 November 2024, and authors will be notified of the status of their submission by mid-December.
Each session will follow one of the following formats:
1. Standard – with a series of formal papers (normally 10-20 minutes in length + time for questions) addressing a theme presented in advance by the organisers.
2. Round Table – with a pre-conference position paper published by the organisers, followed by an invitation for researchers to submit a response in advance or to participate in open-forum discussion at the session. Please see the round table page for the abstracts and additional information.
3. Other – with the format decided by the organisers, exploring innovative and creative ways for participants to engage with the session.
Please check the format of each session carefully before submitting an abstract and see the guidelines below to learn more about the different requirements for each type. If your presentation is applicable to more than one session, please indicate that during the submission process by selecting the one that best matches the topic of your paper as your primary subject area and up to four other related sessions as secondary options. If none of the sessions are appropriate for your paper, please mark the closest fit as your primary choice and then the “Advances in Computational Archaeology” (session 46) as a secondary option. Abstracts for posters should also be submitted to a specific session, as authors will be invited to make an optional short presentation about their poster during the session.
Submissions from Student and Early Career Researchers
Papers and posters from Students and Early Career Researchers are actively encouraged. The Nick Ryan Bursary will be awarded to the best student paper at CAA2025 and the recipient will receive a bursary of up to €1,000 to travel to the CAA2026 conference.
Students who wish to be considered for the Nick Ryan Bursary should review the guidelines and then check yes to question 2 when submitting their abstract to a standard/other format session. The CAA International Scientific Committee will shortlist the top student papers for participation in in the Nick Ryan Bursary session during the abstract review process. Shortlisted authors will be asked to record and submit a video of their paper presentation approximately two weeks before the conference. During the conference, all Nick Ryan Bursary participants will present their papers in-person in the session for which they were accepted. The winner of the Nick Ryan Bursary award will be announced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Submitting an Abstract
To submit your abstract please go to Conference Management Toolkit (CMT) (You will need to create an account if you have not previously submitted a proposal in CMT). Please review and follow the guidelines for authors.
Individuals may only be the first named author on one standard paper or other format session requiring a full paper. Round tables, posters, lightning talks or similar short presentations are excluded from this limit.
Abstracts should be broad enough to reach all interested researchers, regardless of affiliation or background. The official language of the conference is English, and all abstracts should be submitted in English. You will be required to endorse the CAA ethics statement as part of your submission.
The CAA2025 call for papers will stay open until 24 November 2024. Any technical queries related to the CAA2025 submission system, questions about conference organization, or other logistical queries should be directed to caa2025@caaconference.org. Any queries related to the scientific or review process should be sent to the scientific committee at: scientificcommittee@caa-international.org.
CAA membership is not required to submit a proposal. However, all conference attendees, including speakers, will need to be a 2025 member prior to registering. 2025 memberships will be available starting around 1 November 2024. For additional information about CAA’s fees and categories, please visit the Membership page.
Session Formats
Standard Sessions
Extended abstracts (1,000 words maximum, plus up to 3 citations) will be required for papers submitted to standard sessions. The content of your abstract should be appropriate for the nature of the paper you intend to present.
For scientific papers, your abstract could include:
- Introduction – an overview of the background to your research and the research questions that will be addressed by your paper;
- Methods and materials – a summary of the sources of data used and the methods employed in your research;
- Results – a description of the results of your research;
- Discussion – a discussion of the wider implications of your research;
- References – up to 3 citations (cited using the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date format, see below).
For discursive or theoretical papers, your abstract could include:
- Context – an overview of the current state of the art and the problems that will be addressed by your paper;
- Main argument – a summary of the key points in your argument;
- Applications or implications – a discussion of the wider implications of your paper for computer applications and quantitative methods in archaeology;
- References – up to 3 citations (cited using the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date format, see below).
Abstracts should contain sufficient information to allow the CAA Scientific Committee to evaluate the scientific content of your paper. You may include a single figure (see below) that shows the key results or main argument of your paper.
Round Tables
Round table sessions offer a more interactive format, and organisers are expected to nominate participants by the deadline for the Call for Papers. Nominated panelists do not need to submit abstracts through CMT. If you are interested in being a speaker in one of the accepted round table sessions, please email the chair using the email address listed on the abstract to discuss your potential contributions.
Other
Extended abstracts (1,000 words maximum, plus 3 citations) will be required for papers submitted to other sessions. The content of your abstract should be appropriate for both the format of the other session and the nature of the paper you intend to present.
For scientific papers, your abstract could include:
- Introduction – an overview of the background to your research and the research questions that will be addressed by your paper;
- Methods and materials – a summary of the sources of data used and the methods employed in your research;
- Results – a description of the results of your research;
- Discussion – a discussion of the wider implications of your research;
- References – up to 3 citations (cited using the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date format, see below).
For discursive or theoretical papers, your abstract could include:
- Context – an overview of the current state of the art and the problems that will be addressed by your paper;
- Main argument – a summary of the key points in your argument;
- Applications or implications – a discussion of the wider implications of your paper for computer applications and quantitative methods in archaeology;
- References – up to 3 citations (cited using the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date format, see below).
Abstracts should contain sufficient information to allow the CAA Scientific Committee to evaluate the scientific content of your paper. You may include a single figure (see below) that shows the key results or main argument of your paper.
Lightning talks or similar contributions are excluded from the limit of one paper per first named author, i.e. a participant can submit an abstract for both a lightning talk and a 20-minute paper. Participants in other session formats will still have the opportunity to submit a paper for inclusion in the conference proceedings.
Posters
Abstracts (200-500 words, plus up to 3 citations) will be required for posters. Your abstract should include:
- Subject – a description of the methods used and key results (scientific posters), or main argument (discursive or theoretical posters);
- Background – a summary of the topic or research question addressed by the poster;
- Discussion – a discussion of the wider implications of your research for computer applications and quantitative methods in archaeology;
- References – up to 3 citations (cited using the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date format, see below).
Your abstract should contain sufficient information to allow the CAA Scientific Committee to evaluate the scientific content of your poster. You may include a single figure (see below) that shows the key results or main argument of your paper.
Accepted posters will be displayed during the conference, and authors will be invited to make an optional short presentation about their poster during the session to which it was submitted.
Citations and Figures
Citations
Citations should use the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date style. It is recommended that you use a citation manager. Style files can be either installed directly from within your citation manager or downloaded from:
If you do not use a citation manager, please make sure you carefully follow the examples for the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date style from the Citation Quick Guide.
Figures
A single figure (optional) that shows the key results or main argument of your paper can be submitted with your abstract. Figures should be submitted in a format that can be displayed in a standard web browser and should have a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.
Session Descriptions
See the details of the Sessions in the Session Descriptions page or click to download a PDF of the Call for Papers, including the session descriptions (file size: 1.3 MB).