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A response by Barbara Isaac to a letter to the editor about her book "Archaeology of Human Origins: Papers by Glynn Isaac" is presented.

While learning can happen anywhere and everywhere, most educational practices in K-12 are confined within the walls of a classroom and the school; such practices narrowly define learning and exclude the opportunities that an expanded and digitally mediated definition of learning can offer. Augmented reality (AR) technologies offer exciting new opportunities for supporting ubiquitous learning, by superimposing layers of digital information on the real world. The digital augmentation can provide enriched learning experiences, through situating the learning content in authentic contexts and fostering inquiry-based learning. Nonetheless, learning can often be sidestepped as the use of AR technologies becomes a mere fun activity, akin to a treasure hunt. Such challenges indicate the need to provide scaffolded AR environments to support deep learning. These ideas are reflected in the design of the "TraceReaders," a platform for enabling location-based mobile learning using augmented reality (AR) technologies. "TraceReaders" supports the authoring of inquiry-based AR apps, to engage students in evidence-driven reflective inquiry in situ. This paper first describes the theoretical commitments which guided the development of the "TraceReaders" platform, followed by a description of its design rationale. Two case studies of informal inquiry learning using "TraceReaders" are then presented: the first one reports on the use of the "Young Archaeologists" "TraceReaders" app to support primary school students' historical reasoning, while the second one reports on the "Mystery at the Lake" app to support high school students' environmental science inquiry. These cases offer the opportunity to discuss the affordances and challenges in using such a scaffolded tool to support location-based AR learning in situ. The discussion concludes with lessons learned from empirical studies about the design and effectiveness of tools like the "TraceReaders" platform and future steps.

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Alvaro Arrizabalaga reports financial support and article publishing charges were provided by University of the Basque Country - Alava Campus. Alvaro Arrizabalaga reports a relationship with Basque Government- IT1435–22 that includes: funding grants. Eder Dominguez-Ballesteros is a María Zambrano Fellow, funded with the UE Resilience funds- Europe NEXT Generation in Spain If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

The identification of archaeological biomarkers is one of the main objectives of analytical chemistry in the archaeological field. However, no information is currently available on biomarkers able to unambiguously indicate the presence of olive oil, a cornerstone of Mediterranean ancient societies lifestyle, in an organic residue. This study aims to bridge this gap by a thorough characterization of the degradation products of extra-virgin olive oils (EVOOs) resulting from in-lab thermal oxidative treatments, with the primary goal of revealing potential archaeological biomarkers for olive oil. Thirty-three EVOOs sourced from eleven different monocultivars across five Italian regions (Sicily, Apulia, Lazio, Tuscany, and Liguria) and Spain, were analyzed before and after thermal oxidation. In addition, an identical thermal treatment was employed on pure triglyceride standards (triolein, trilinolein, and tristearin), due to the high concentration of their fatty acids in EVOO discerning their degradation patterns. A combination of analytical strategies was employed, including HPLC-MS and HPLC-ELSD for the complete evaluation of the intact lipids (triglycerides, diglycerides, and their oxidative species) in olive oils before and after oxidation, and HS-SPME-GC-MS and GC-FID for the characterization of secondary oxidation products formed by the thermal treatment. In addition, to elucidate the fatty acid distribution in the oxidized EVOOs by GC-MS and GC-FID techniques a derivatization step was performed to convert lipid compounds into trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. A chemometric approach was used to thoroughly interpret the data obtained from intact and oxidized samples. This comprehensive investigation sheds light on the chemical transformations of EVOOs under thermal oxidative conditions and indicates mono-carboxylic acids such as pentanoic, hexanoic, heptanoic, octanoic, nonanoic, and decanoic acids as potential archaeological biomarkers for the presence of lipid substances coming from olive oil in archaeological organic residues. Finally, lipid contents from twenty-four real archaeological samples, grouped in amphorae (10), unguentaria (5), and lamps (9), excavated from the Roman domus of Villa San Pancrazio in Taormina (Italy), were determined. The analytical results obtained from amphorae samples revealed the presence of the selected olive oil-specific archaeological biomarkers, an information extremely interesting considering that this type of amphorae have so far been solely associated with the storage of wine., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The handaxe is an iconic stone tool form used to define and symbolise both the Acheulean and the wider Palaeolithic. There has long been debate around the extent of its morphological variability between sites, and the role that extrinsic factors (especially raw material, blank type, and the extent of resharpening) have played in driving this variability, but there has been a lack of high-resolution examinations of these factors in the same study. In this paper, we present a 2D geometric morphometric analysis of 1097 handaxes from across Africa, the Levant, and western Europe to examine the patterning of this variability and what it can tell us about hominin behaviour. We replicate the findings of previous studies, that handaxe shape varies significantly between sites and entire continental regions, but we find no evidence for raw material, blank type, or resharpening in determining this pattern. What we do find, however, is that markers of reduction trajectory vary substantially between sites, suggesting that handaxes were deployed differently according to hominin need at a given site. We argue this is reflective of a continuum of reduction strategies, from those focused on the maintenance of a sharp cutting edge (i.e. direct use in cutting activities), to those focused on maintaining tip shapes, and perhaps a corresponding production of flakes. Implications for hominin behavioural flexibility are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Clark et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This paper explores tool-using activities undertaken in and around the earliest known evidence of post-built structures in Britain. Microwear results associated with at least three structures identified at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, North Yorkshire, are examined as a means of identifying activity zones associated with the diverse stone tools used to process a variety of materials (e.g. wood, bone, antler, plant, hide, meat, fish). With 341 lithic artefacts analysed, this research represents the first microwear study focused on the post-built structures at Star Carr. A combination of spatial and microwear data has provided different scales of interpretation: from individual tool use to patterns of activity across the three structures. Different types of tool use observed have aided interpretations of possible activity areas where objects were produced and materials were processed. Zones of activity within one of the structures suggest that the working of some materials was more spatially restricted than others; even where there are high densities of flint deposition, spatial patterns in tool-using activity were observed. From this, it is interpreted that social norms and behaviours influenced the spatial organisation of different spaces. Our results demonstrate the importance of combining microwear analysis with GIS to explore function and variability in the use of Mesolithic structures-providing new insights into their role as social spaces., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests, (Copyright: © 2024 Bates et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The study of micro-objects, both inorganic and organic, which can be found associated to parchment or cellulose fibres of books and documents, or in the inks and the dirt, accumulated over the centuries between the pages, can unravel important information on the manufacture of the ancient documents, on their past vicissitudes or on the causes of aging and deterioration of the materials they contain. The results of a critical observation of micrometric objects and structures with a diagnostic or archaeological significance have in some cases been surprising. Apart from the curiosity that certain findings may or may not raise, what needs to be discussed is the fact that some chemical components, usually attributed to the manufacture of materials or the inks may instead have a particular origin and nature, and therefore lead, if not properly highlighted, to some erroneous diagnostics. Examples are given where the information obtained by means of scanning electron microscope imaging and Raman microscopy were coupled with dispersive X-ray microanalysis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a case study of an assessment development process which contrasts with more recent "top-down" trends in assessment which tend to leave assessment development processes opaque to users. This paper describes the processes of a collaborative, multi-agency project which set out to develop an assessment framework which would appropriately recognise the various skills present in the Higher Education Field Academy; a widening participation programme aiming to boost the educational aspirations, enthusiasm and attainment of secondary school students through their engagement in archaeological excavation. The case study describes the stages of building an assessment framework that was sympathetic to the intentions of a learning programme whilst providing robust observation-based outcomes that avoided heavy assessment processes that could corrupt learning relationships. The challenges involved in this development process have important parallels with vocational assessment; not least in providing an example of a localised development of an observation-based assessment model which can be used in diverse settings. The insights gained from this case study are useful for others who are engaged in localised assessment development processes. (Contains 2 figures.)

Understanding the global, societal, environmental and economic (GSEE) context of a product, process or system is critical to an engineer's ability to design and innovate. The already packed curricula in engineering programs provide few occasions to offer meaningful experiences to address this issue, and most departments delegate this requirement to an early cornerstone or later capstone design experience as a result, making these courses an ineffective "catch all". To address this challenge, we utilize the paradigm of "product archaeology," to understand the decisions that led to a product's development. Product archaeology is defined as the process of reconstructing the lifecycle of a product--the customer requirements, design specifications, and manufacturing processes used to create it. By considering products, processes and systems as designed artifacts with a history rooted in their development, we embed GSEE context as a central component in developing design solutions. In the current work, students focus primarily on the useful life of products and their design solutions, rather than on product end-of-life issues. Specifically, in our work we have implemented several approaches to integrate contextual thinking related to GSEE dimensions into a senior level engineering design course. Following Kolb's model of experiential learning and an instructional framework adapted for product archaeology (inclusive of evaluate--explain--prepare--excavate activities) we have restructured the course to embed specific and targeted reflection, dissection, and analysis activities so that student teams effectively address the GSEE factors in their design solutions. This paper provides the theoretical framework of our instructional approach, describes the specific didactic activities we implemented, and summarizes results from our qualitative analysis. Overall, our results suggest that the use of product dissection and GSEE activities is an effective way to equip students with new tools to understand contextual, technical, and functional properties of their design projects.

In this paper, we present our efforts in embedding product archeology inspired curricula into two engineering courses along with assessment results. The assessment focuses on the effectiveness of the embedded curricula in enhancing students' understanding on the global, societal, environmental, and economic (GSEE) implications of engineering design. The results show the significant positive impact of the curricula as perceived by students in comparison to other engineering courses, and thus, is another testament to the fact that carefully crafted curricula can have substantial impact.

The article presents several conference papers presented at the 50th Local History Conference in London, England by London and Middlesex Archaeological Society including "Made in London: A Review of Ceramic Manufacture in Middlesex From the Middle Ages to the 19th Century", "Profligate in Principle as in Practice? John Wilkes and Elections in Middlesex 1768-90", and "A Cinderella Service- Middlesex County Council 1889-1965".

This paper reports findings of a pilot study that examined the pedagogical potential of "Second Life" (SL), a popular three-dimensional multi-user virtual environment (3-D MUVE) developed by the Linden Lab. The study is part of a 1-year research and development project titled "Modelling of Secondlife Environments" (http://www.le.ac.uk/moose) funded by the UK Joint Information Systems Committee. The research question addressed in this paper is: how can learning activities that facilitate social presence and foster socialisation among distance learners for collaborative learning be developed in SL, a 3-D MUVE? The study was carried out at the University of Leicester (UoL) within an undergraduate module on Archaeological Theory, where two tutors and four students took part in four learning activities designed to take place in SL within the UoL Media Zoo island. The learning activities and training in SL were based on Salmon's five-stage model of online learning. Students' engagement in SL was studied through interviews, observations and records of chat logs. The data analysis offers four key findings in relation to the nature and pattern of in-world "socialisation" and its impact on real-world network building; the pattern of in-world "socialisation" stage in Salmon's 5-stage model; perspectives on students' progress in-world through the first stage of the model--"access and motivation"--and perspectives on their entry into, and progress through, the second stage of the model--"socialisation"--and the role of identity presented through avatars in the process of socialisation. The paper offers implications for research and practice in the light of these findings.

This paper examines the role of history in power relations which suppress Indigenous knowledges. History is located as being about power and about how the powerful maintain their power. The paper further examines the Bering Strait theory/myth and ways that discourses in history combine with discourses in science to devalue Indigenous knowledges. The "truth" of science is challenged and examples of manipulation of scientific knowledge are provided, including discussions of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation made for television production "A people's history" and an Internet website provided by the American government. These production activities supported by the Canadian and American governments are considered educational activities engaged in the practice of cultural representation in which dominant discourses about Indigenous peoples are presented. The paper challenges dominant misrepresentations of discourses about Indigenous peoples in a discussion of educational practices emphasizing the need of Indigenous peoples to control education and cultural representations. The paper concludes that it is a responsibility of society to educate all students to understand that any portrayal of history comes from a particular vantage point and to understand that dominant society privileges some representations and disadvantages others. If we teach in a critical way and challenge dominant discourses we can begin to create a society in which all persons in Canada and the USA, including Indigenous peoples, have a role to play.

This paper presents the conservation treatment of a group of twenty Chinese calligraphies and paintings. These artworks are part of the Camilo Pessanha (1867-1926) collection that belongs to the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, and are currently on loan to the Museu do Oriente in Lisbon. The project was managed by the Fundação Oriente, and carried out at the conservation and restoration department of the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação. There were three groups of works of art: scrolls with paintings and calligraphy on paper; scrolls with paintings on gilded paper; and paintings on silk. A brief characterization of the oriental scroll is followed by an overview of the traditional oriental conservation techniques for this type of art, as well as recently described practices. Ethical and theoretical considerations relating to the conservation treatments will be also discussed.

In 2016, we (seven high school students from a school in Plock, Poland) participated in the CERN Beamline for Schools competition. Together with our team coach, Mr. Janusz Kempa, we submitted a proposal to CERN that was selected as one of two winning proposals that year. This paper describes our experiment from the early days of brainstorming to the trip to Geneva.

Several conference papers presented at the 49th London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (LAMAS) Local History Conference held in November 2014 are presented, which includes one on the problems associated with the condition of criminals in the 1780s and another on the law observed in London, England during the Middle Ages.

The paper proposes that existing methodologies for dance studies can be extended through consideration of recently developing methodologies from social archaeology. It is first argued that an archaeological perspective on dance is enriching for archaeology, whose recent interest in dance as a focus of investigation can be seen as an attempt to broaden the scope of archaeology as a discipline to encompass the totality of the human experience. The argument is then put forward that the process of archaeological investigation is a useful metaphor for the dance process in its broadest acceptation and provides a good model for dance analysis. The final section of the paper considers ways in which dance students' experience and understanding of dance can be enhanced through using an archaeological approach highlighting the usefulness of an archaeological perspective, and thus fleshing out a sense of its relevance. The methods of social archaeology are discussed in the more specific context of dance education and they are found to be of value in relation to practices of documentation and reconstruction of dance works, due to the fragmented nature of the dance evidence. No prescriptive conclusion is however posited. The scholarly community of dance practitioners and educators is invited to engage in a fruitful dialogue with archaeologists with a view to explore the disciplinary nexus in greater depth and take it further. (Contains 17 notes.)