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Can we use the past to improve the present and plan better futures? What is the purpose of archaeological knowledge? To whom do we feel ourselves accountable? What can we learn from past episodes of archaeologists grappling with these same questions? In light of recent claims regarding the value of archaeology for solving the most pressing problems of our day, it is worth revisiting times in our own history when archaeologists were enlisted in attempts to instrumentalize the past to address contemporary concerns. The case of Robert McCormick Adams and his trailblazing full-coverage survey research in Iraq and Iran between 1956 and 1962 clearly demonstrates the possibilities and pitfalls of such efforts. Adams's commentaries on this fieldwork—particularly the reflections on the purpose and impact of archaeological research it provoked—have consequential ramifications for our disciplinary practice now and going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists can use the provenance of lithic raw materials to examine the movements, territories, and settlement dynamics of hunter-gatherers. Several studies have used macroscopic analyses to propose the long-distance transport of raw material during the Gravettian and the Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura in Central Europe. Until now hypotheses about raw material transport in this region were not based on reproducible analyses. This study aims to test some of the hypotheses about the origins of lithic raw materials during the Gravettian and Magdalenian, using infrared spectroscopic measurements. These analyses are based on differences and similarities in the mineralogy and crystallography of rocks. Using this method, we test for long-distance raw-material transport between the sites of the Swabian Jura and the Freiburg basin, 200 km to the south-west, and the region of the Altmühl Valley, 150 km to the north-east. For this, we created a reference database of 114 lithic raw material outcrops from Southern Germany and compared these specimens with artifacts from eleven archeological sites. Our study reconstructs the raw-material procurement and transport during the Gravettian and Magdalenian and reveals settlement patterns and territories that span over more than 300 km in Central Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-five years ago, E. W. Said (Orientalism [London: Penguin 1995 (1978)]) famously decried disciplines studying the past and present ‘east’. He argued that oriental studies, ranging from those studying Arabic to Archaeology, were involved in a project of control, appropriation, and alienation of the cultural and linguistic heritage of (formerly) dominated countries in Asia. Nearly half a century later it is pertinent to ask the uneasy question whether Said’s critique remains valid today. What is the power relation at present between archaeologists from the rich formerly colonial states (especially Western Europe and the USA), and their colleagues living in West Asia?Here, I will critically assess the status quo in the archaeology of West Asia, and ask to what degree the field remains dominated by western scholars. After a discussion of the current dynamics of the relationship between foreign and regional participants in the archaeology of West Asia, I will evaluate who holds power in this field of archaeology by assessing: first, the composition of committees of key organizations in the study of the ancient West Asia; second, where major congress meetings take place; third, who organizes these meetings; fourth, who sits on the editorial boards of a number of leading journals; and, fifth, how well accessible key publications of West Asian archaeology are. The results suggests that, after nearly half a century Said’s critique has not lost its sting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Maguaré is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Maguaré is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Maguaré is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to develop a miniature mobile robot suitable to assist archeologists in their first exploration of unknown underground tombs. Due to the rather complex and irregular terrains in the tombs and inspired by the classic RHex design, we have developed a two‐segment articulated robot (A‐RHex) with two RHex design units. The robot is compact and lightweight, with dimensions of 25 cm long, 6.5 cm wide, 7 cm high, and weighs 283 g. To assist the robot in entering the tomb, we have also designed a deployment platform that can take the robots underground through a 10‐cm exploration hole. We introduce the overall design, control, and communication methods of A‐RHex, and theoretically analyze how the articulated design can improve the stability of the robot on slopes. Laboratory experiments and field testings at two real archeological excavation sites in China have validated A‐RHex's mechanical design, control strategies, communications, and capabilities for pre‐exploration of open and closed tombs. We believe that this kind of robot with high terrain adaptability and a small profile may become an important tool for field archeology in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how the competitive quest for bone samples used in genomic analyses of ancient DNA (aDNA) creates a pressing concern for anthropological research. It investigates the premises and effects of this phenomenon—a global hunt for petrous bones as treasured sources of DNA resembling a gold fever—from the situated perspectives of archaeologists and curators of ancient human remains. We present findings from an anonymous questionnaire involving 60 archaeologists and curators from major museums and research projects across the world, complemented with 16 semistructured interviews, providing a unique empirical basis to analyze professional relations and structural issues in this expansive sector of anthropology. Through a thematic analysis, we discuss how industrial-scale ambitions and competition among large laboratories promote colonial attitudes and the hoarding of samples. Comparing our results with recent discussions within the field, we identify a gap between the ideal practices advocated by researchers invested in archaeogenomic research and the actual practices of aDNA research fostered by the tangled incentives of high-impact publications and research grants. This gap between ideal and actual practices unveils a fundamentally asymmetrical academic landscape that engenders conflict and ethical dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1899, the Italian Archaeological Mission was established in Crete, and soon became an important player in the rediscovery of Minoan and post-Minoan civilization. The paper analyses the relationships between the archaeologists of the Mission, directed by Federico Halbherr, and the local workforce through the key of imperial hierarchies. Thanks to diaries, excavation notebooks, private correspondence and images, the analysis sheds light on the perceptions archaeologists had of locally recruited workers. At the same time, it brings out the agency of the workers, trying to enlighten their relationships with the antiquities and their way of interacting with the archaeologists. By comparing Italian sources with those produced by other foreign archaeologists, the paper shows how this agency was silenced in the official discourse of archaeology, which incorporated the authority/subalternity and superiority/inferiority dichotomies elaborated on the excavation. After analysing the role of some local actors – such as Halbherr's collaborator, Manoli Iliakis – the paper explores the popular narrative of Cretan archaeology, showing how the themes and images elaborated in Crete were proposed to the Italian public. Here again, the inferiorizing view of local actors, who were condemned to remain as ghosts between the lines of an archaeological discourse based on modernity and the hierarchies of imperialism, emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Histria Archaeologica is the property of Arheoloski Muzej Istre u Puli and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates the temporal and spatial factors driving the domestication of Capsicum annuum var. annuum L. in Mexico. This species exhibits the greatest morphological diversity in fruit among Capsicum species--a characteristic that is even more pronounced in contemporary landraces cultivated by indigenous communities. Despite the chili pepper's integral role in regional culinary traditions, its domestication history in this region remains poorly understood, often subject to scholarly interpretations that marginalize or oversimplify archaeological evidence. To address this gap, our interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, botanists, and ecologists combine modern and archaeological Capsicum seed data, diachronic archaeological site locations, and ecological niche modeling to identify potential regions where early human populations and the closest wild ancestors may have coexisted. Our results show spatial correlations between early Capsicum distribution and archaeological site prevalence, suggesting that the beginning of the domestication process occurred in ecologically suitable areas for both wild Capsicum and human settlement. These findings challenge previous hypotheses regarding highland/dry cave domestication regions, as our data indicate that lowland regions--specifically the Yucatán Peninsula and southern coastal Guerrero--were more conducive to early encounters between wild Capsicum and humans. We propose a geographically diffuse and protracted model of chili pepper domestication--driven by a ruderal pathway--which involved at least two asynchronous events across Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the globe, colonization often produces material homogenization. The same objects originating in the metropole become part of assemblages throughout the colony. These assemblages impact different groups inhabiting dominated territories, shaping globalization. Archaeologists have now moved away from homogenizing acculturation-based perspectives to understand contexts where global/colonial objects are adopted in local contexts. Postcolonial approaches emphasizing the agency of the colonized have moved us forward towards archaeologies of cultural entanglements, processes of combination of imposed patterns by the colonizer and cultural inputs of the colonized resulting in innovation. By identifying metamorphoses of global Egyptian-style objects into locally effective objects in colonized Nubia during the New Kingdom, this paper demonstrates the existence of distinctive, yet to be fully understood colonial identities shaped by different experiences of global objects. If colonialism shapes globalization, colonized experiences of global objects end up separating various groups interacting with the same objects across cultural borders according to their varying socio-economic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the shift from object- to landscape-based approaches in urban heritage management, the analysis of heritage as objects is still viable, as the current archaeological theories of material culture do not see objects in the same manner as the object-based approach. To reveal the broader significance of urban archaeology for the cityscape, the relationship between the discipline and urban space is analyzed in the framework of fragmentation theory. The theory is based on prehistoric archaeology but modified to describe urban archaeology and its effects in the contemporary city. It is argued that fragments, regardless of their connection with the past and their central role in heritage work, also have autonomous potential to distract and act as agents disconnected from their original objects. The creative character of urban fragments should be explored further by archaeologists and heritage management. These ideas are scrutinized using the development of urban archaeology and heritage in the city of Turku in Finland as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid acquisition of millimeter‐resolution subterranean images can significantly improve the efficiency of archaeological excavation and facilitate the preservation of artifacts. For excavation sites with limited space, small and portable imaging equipment is necessary. Compton backscatter imaging (CBI) is a single‐sided non‐destructive testing technique, which typically requires a short scan time to obtain high‐resolution images. It has great potential in archaeological excavation, supporting archaeologists to make quick judgments. This research utilized a compact, easy‐to‐carry handheld backscatter system, making it particularly suitable and beneficial for on‐site archaeological excavation. Tests were performed in the framework of the excavation of a chariot pit at Dajuan Han Tomb in Xi'an (Shaanxi Province, China) to validate the applicability of this technique in imaging soil structure changes and detecting cultural artifacts. The experimental results show that CBI can clearly image bronze artifacts buried underground, which means practical value in archaeological excavation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatal fires pose complex challenges for responders due to the requirement to investigate all aspects of the fire using methods that maximize evidence recovery and integrity, including optimal and respectful recovery of the deceased. In this article, the authors consider the value of the inclusion of both forensic archeologists and forensic anthropologists in circumstances of fatal fire, identifying some of the challenges posed by these environments and what each can contribute. This article is categorized under:Crime Scene Investigation > Crime Scene ExaminationForensic Anthropology > Forensic ArchaeologyForensic Anthropology > Taphonomic Changes and the Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the collaboration between BBC radio producer Rhoda Power and professional archaeologists Dina Dobson and Jacquetta Hawkes, in the production of the Schools radio series How Things Began. During the Second World War, radio became an important way of conveying educational information to the citizens of Britain. At the same time, archaeology was consolidating its role in British public life. The discussion considers the techniques used by Rhoda Power and expert contributors in the creation of archaeological radio content designed to appeal to school children, and therefore contributes to an enhanced understanding of Rhoda Power's role within the BBC Schools service, and provides new insights into the contribution to British life and education of two eminent female archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although archaeologists are learning more about the lives of Upper Paleolithic children, the significant contributions they made to the welfare of their communities, including their role in craft production, remain understudied. In the present study, we use high resolution photographs of 489 ceramic artifacts from Dolní Věstonice I and II, Pavlov I and VI, and Předmostí, five archaeological sites in Czechia (ca. 30,000 BP) to address two questions: 1. Can the ceramic products of novices be distinguished from those made by experts? 2. If so, can we tell if these novices were children? To address these questions, we documented variables known ethnographically and archaeologically to be associated with learners in a sample from these five sites. The sample is composed of fired ("ceramic") and unfired ("sedimentary") anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, non-diagnostic figurine fragments and a sample of the so-called "pellets" from one site, Pavlov I. Our results support the hypothesis that ceramic objects are the products of novices, and in many cases, these novices are children. Our findings have implications for inter-generational knowledge transmission, the role of children in craft production and the importance of learning through play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians and archaeologists have been debating the scale of animal husbandry in ancient Greece for decades. This study contributes to the debate by examining Classical and Hellenistic faunal assemblages from Magoula Plataniotki, New Halos, and Pherae through non-destructive zooarchaeological methods and a multi-isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C, and δ18O) approach. Zooarchaeological data suggest that small-scale sedentary animal husbandry focused on caprine production in Magoula Plataniotiki and New Halos, and small-scale and semi-specialised animal husbandry was practised in Pherae. Isotopic data show both sedentary and mobile management of livestock in all sites, indicating different levels of production intensity and variety of goals. Based on our results, we propose an economic model whereby semi-specialised and small-scale animal husbandry co-existed, confirming mixed husbandry models for ancient Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As archaeologists and cultural resource managers, how do we communicate the work we do and how might the stories of that work contribute to the value of public lands? We define archaeological significance in terms of process and how we identify those processes across the linear structure of a chronology, defining historical landmarks as temporal as opposed to spatial. Public lands present a unique opportunity to use archaeology to tell stories that are rooted in space since the landscape is conserved. With this conserved land, we can tell stories that are written across a landscape as though the landscape itself is a text that people can read. In so doing, we can tell stories about the past that create more intimate connections between people and our beloved public lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT There is a common agreement among archaeologists that assessing visibility in the field is essential to measure the accuracy of their observations. Archaeologists widely expect that low visibility negatively impacts the recovery rate of artefacts and sites during field‐walking surveys. However, they hold fundamentally divergent opinions on using recorded visibility values and on whether or how to weight the results. In this paper, I undertake a review and comparison of ground visibility assessments from three archaeological field‐walking surveys conducted in the eastern Mediterranean, all of which have published their data. Capitalizing on the availability of open data, I recode and analyse the algorithms employed in these surveys. The results highlight the impacts of weighting techniques, and I compare the maps produced with and without weighting. In all cases, the corrections do not substantially change the interpretations of the results at the scale of site identification. As such, this data‐driven experiment contributes to the ongoing debate on how to compare effectively and integrate data from various survey projects to study regional trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSeascapes mean different things to different people and disciplines. Scholarship over the past 30 years has seen conceptualizations of seascapes move beyond dictionary definitions of seascapes as marine vistas to nuanced understandings of seas variously emphasizing their biological and cultural dimensions. Biological approaches (conservation) focus on marine ecosystems and management aimed at minimizing human impacts with cultural values increasingly acknowledged as critical to the success of marine protected areas. Cultural approaches (heritage, history, anthropology, and archaeology) focus on the symbolic dimensions of seas as culturally constructed and linked to maritime peoples and maritime cultures and identity. Maritime historians have sought to reposition the sea from a backdrop to history to an active and agentive historical actor. Maritime anthropologists have focused on cosmological and cultural underpinnings of customary maritime tenure by small-scale coastal communities. Maritime archaeologists have expanded their research scope from shipwrecks such that seascapes include maritime infrastructure on land. While interdisciplinarity underpins cultural approaches to seascapes, the transdisciplinarity of anthropologically and historically informed archaeologies allows cross-cultural conceptualization of seascapes as extending from the sea (marine seascapes) across adjacent lands (terrestrial seascapes) and ritual engagement with the sea as a sentient and animate realm and cosmologically constructed spiritscape. Ontological notions of sentient seas and agentive seascapes invite future seascape scholarship to further explore more authentic bottom-up, emic, mariners’ and sea peoples’ epistemological positions centering on “how seas think” and “who is the ocean.” Such notions and positions provide enormous scope for archaeologists to further explore the marine and terrestrial expressions of seascapes given that maritime peoples’ social and spiritual relationships with sentient seas are mediated materially by rituals involving sites (e.g., shrines) and objects (e.g., votives) both in the sea and on land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although historians and archaeologists have been quick to point out the political and economic conditions that tend to foment sea piracy, less attention has been given to the ecology of ‘blue crimes’. This article offers an empirical synthesis of recent archaeological work on piratical sites from the Age of Sail (ca. 1570–1860) while drawing parallels to both ancient Mediterranean and contemporary sea piracy in order to highlight some common patterns and explore the broader potential of a political ecology framing. I argue that sea piracy is in part an effect of ecological conditions and in turn produces its own political and ecological effects. I also consider Graeber and Wengrow’s transhistorical argument about the ‘ecology of freedom’ as it applies to sea piracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Lost in Five Miles" is a collection of short stories by the storyteller and poet Hassan Al-Salman, which includes eleven short stories. It won first place in the Iraqi Creativity Award Competition - 2023. Hence its importance, which reflects the uniqueness of "Salman" among short story writers, which is not very concerned with the techniques of modernity and beyond. Rather, "Salman" writes in a narrative style that will take us back. If it were not for the miracles and oddities that he inserts here and there, he succeeds in some of them, and misses the mark in others. What is beautiful is that these miracles will be accompanied by an intertextuality of a new kind, in which Al-Salman deliberately intends, consciously, to overlap with one of the great creative texts, whether narrative or poetry, to show the other side of it is by overturning the dualism on which it is based, or filling the gaps it left with miracles of a different kind. Our study is similar to tourism, because it wants to pass through some of the stories of the group, after finding that others do not deserve passing, but it will add to the tourist's mission another task related to the archaeologist, which is an archaeological excavation mission, searching the lower layers of the text, and not being satisfied with its surfaces, starting from From an approach to reading, he sees that the text is what suggests the method of receiving it, meaning that there is no method prior to the text, but rather the method stems from the text and returns to it, and perhaps it does not return, because reading may suggest another path for itself, adjacent to the text, and not lost in it. The question is: What will the tourist or archaeologist find in the texts of the lost collection? This is what the study is trying to answer, by reading the texts, especially since analysis as a reading of the form, and interpretation as a reading of the content, will be present. As for interpretation, it is the goal of prudent reading. How could it not be, when the "Salman" texts are a creative mosaic, in which the author, society, history, culture, anthropology of primitive man, and his open texts to life are all present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations in Israel of Byzantine and early Islamic sites have yielded some interesting gaming boards that are not always understood by the archaeologists who found them. Because they are organised in parallel rows of 'holes', most are presented as 'mancala' gameboards – which some may be, indeed; however, boards offering three or four rows of squares or depressions cannot reasonably be mancalas, nor can they be held as 'senet', the Egyptian game. So, what are they? Reviewing the relevant literature, this article will try in this article to disentangle these finds, the more so as they are often well dated to periods which have rarely been looked into. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in documenting and preserving African American burial grounds is rapidly expanding across the United States of America. This work has wide support and numerous groups advocate for the creation of such projects. In majority‐White, rural communities, these projects can elicit strong reactions — positive and negative. This article discusses the challenges arising in such locations by reviewing a recent cemetery mapping and ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the Cedar Key Cemetery located on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Numerous challenges, including concentrated attempts to halt the work, emerge over the duration of the project. In Cedar Key, years of transparent engagement between community members and archaeologists results in the emergence of a diverse stakeholder community supporting the project and guaranteeing its completion. Today, this group is mobilizing to document and commemorate similar places in nearby communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a new archaeobotanical synthesis for prehistoric Crete. It brings together all the published plant records from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across the island, as well as unpublished archaeobotanical information for nine other prehistoric sites: Aposelemi, Chalepa, Mesorachi, Mesorachi Akri, Sopata, Chryssi, Chalasmenos, Juktas, and Alonaki. Following a previous synthesis in 2013, the records were compiled into a single database and the data synthesized according to plant type (cereals, legumes, fruits and nuts, oily plant taxa/condiments, and other wild/herbaceous plant taxa). The results of this synthesis are presented in comparison with those from the earlier one in order to highlight both consistent and new trends evident in recorded plant data over the previous decade. The comparison shows that the number of archaeobotanical records for prehistoric Crete has doubled in the last 10 years, augmenting plant data for certain cultural periods (such as Postpalatial) and types of contexts (such as ritual). This synthesis also reviews the methodological practices and lines of research associated with the new records, providing an up-to-date account of the archaeobotanical discipline. Overall, this synthesis acts as a current and comprehensive base reference point for both archaeologists and archaeobotanists studying prehistoric Crete. 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans affect the biosphere by producing entropy as living beings –as explained by Schröedinger [What is Life? The physical aspect of the living cell (Cambridge University Press, New York, 1992)] – but mostly as a consequence of our ever increasing economic interventions. However, humans also create new forms and arrangements of matter. Is it possible that they carry less entropy than equivalent object subject to natural forces? Art and tech works tell us something, thus carry information. The connection between probability and information was introduced by Shannon 75 years ago [Bell Syst. Tech. J. 27, 379–423 (1948)]. In this work we calculate the probability that a stone tool could have been constructed by random, natural causes. We do so by considering the earliest tools created by our hominin ancestors, the stone tools of the Paleolithic. By analysing a sample of tools, we show that they are highly unlikely constructs by random means, and that therefore carry a great deal of information, as generations of archaeologists and anthropologists have eloquently exhibited. Further, we quantify this information, and following Shannon, we ascribe an entropy to the stone tools. We thus find that the stone tool carries less entropy than a stone hit by dispersed blows. This work presents a first simplified approach to these important issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tok stori, a Melanesian pidgin term meaning "conversate or share stories", has emerged over the last decade as a Melanesian research methodology in the fields of education, pedagogy and leadership. This paper contributes to this scholarship by exploring the value of its application to the conceptualisation and practice of archaeological research in Solomon Islands. From our perspectives as Solomon Islander archaeologists, we reflect on our experiences engaging in tok stori with two communities from Santa Isabel and Lauru (Choiseul) while undertaking field work. We use these examples to demonstrate the highly dynamic nature of tok stori in research, serving as a mechanism to build trust and reciprocal relationships centred upon shared social values, but also to facilitate more transactional partnerships fixated on negotiating financial "benefits". Drawing from our experiences, we also discuss key challenges facing archaeological practice in Solomon Islands. These are a lack of awareness of the purpose and values of archaeological research, and a legacy of monetary enticement we refer to as a "handout mentality" generated by extractive industries. Tok stori, we contend, can aid in navigating these challenges and serves as a valuable research tool for archaeologists due to its adaptability and the cultural bearing it holds for Melanesian peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some of the ways in which Indigenous and Western archaeological chronologies are being negotiated and entwined in Oceania. Indigenous pasts are often known through oral traditions, genealogies and ancestral landscapes; these are vital pasts populated by the ancestors. The archaeological past is often interpreted through taphonomy, stratigraphy and direct dating techniques. There are tensions and intersections between these perspectives, and research partnerships between archaeologists and Indigenous communities must negotiate how to build chronologies and narrate the past. Drawing on case studies from our research in Australia and Papua New Guinea, we discuss how these seemingly different ways of knowing the past can be brought into productive conversation and how these understandings are transforming today. We argue that incorporating diverse temporalities for ancestral places can generate richer historical narratives of value to communities and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a collaboration between Wilyakali Indigenous Custodians and a group of archaeologists. This collaboration has generated a shared and integrated understanding of the cultural landscape, Ancestral Creation Histories, and archaeology of the Broken Hill region of western New South Wales. The Broken Hill landscape is ancient beyond imagination, and complex geological processes/Creation Histories have resulted in distinctive landscape features and resources including quartz suitable for stone artefact manufacture. Wilyakali stone knappers employed specialised and varied technological processes to overcome the diverse and sometimes intractable nature of the quartz material, resulting in efficient use of this local stone resource. Wilyakali interpret the Country through their knowledge of the travelling sacred Bronzewing Pigeon and its creation of landscape features and resources such as quartz and water. Empirical archaeological data complement traditional knowledge, with the two ways of knowing coming together to reconstruct a nuanced interpretation of the cultural landscape. This shared narrative has had ongoing and inter‐generational benefits to the Wilyakali people, with knowledge communicated to younger generations by Elders, enabling them to interpret both the archaeology and Ancestral Creation Histories with confidence. This paper also highlights the inconsistent recognition of Indigenous ways of knowing and connection in Aboriginal cultural heritage assessments in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Taiwan's Indigenous community has been actively demanding the repatriation and reburial of ancestral remains, seeking historical justice for colonial wrongs, asserting the community's rights to traditional territories, and pushing for recognition of their long‐standing existence and legal status as Indigenous peoples. In 2022, archeologists consulted and cooperated with the Siraya people, proposing "The Siraya Indigenous Archaeological Action Plan." The aim is to re‐balance the power relations between archeologists and Indigenous peoples, seek a diversity of voices and methods, and put the social practice of archaeology at the trowel's edge into practice. The action plan was carried out within the Siraya Soulangh abandoned settlement, with the Siraya people joining the investigation and excavation work, physically touching important parts of their ancestral cultural heritage. Other efforts include reviving the traditional Siraya systems of the male age‐set organization and the national assembly, consolidating the ethnic identity of the contemporary Siraya people, and sustaining their societal and cultural systems. These endeavors have helped fill the huge historical gap left by colonizers, empowering the Siraya people to claim ownership over the abandoned settlement cultural heritage that has a direct cultural connection with their community, push for recognition of their long‐standing and continuous existence in Taiwan, and acquire legal status as Indigenous peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of dynamic fully integrated cultural-environmental systems is one grand challenge facing archaeologists in this century. In the Midwest and Southeast United States, archaeologists recently increased their study of Mississippian social systems (ca. AD 1000–1600) in relationship to paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental data. Significant differences in chronological control between archaeological chronologies and paleoenvironmental records pose challenges to the study of cultural-environmental systems in this region and often result in equifinal results. Three major lines of paleoenvironmental records are reviewed: bald cypress tree-ring records, the Living Blended Drought Atlas (LBDA), and lake-bottom sediment cores. The strongest approaches include local and regional multiproxy environmental records from the same location as a well-investigated archaeological site(s) or region(s). In the rare case where the cores also encode a regional population history, it may be possible to develop stronger inferences that consider variation within and between communities and their vulnerability to climate change and environmental catastrophes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Africa boasts one of the longest histories of humankind. From hominid origins to the present, people have roamed, interacted with one another, and influenced the environment in innumerable ways. To teach about the archaeology of East Africa is to engage with the deepest history of humankind, from Hominin evolution to historical archaeology and the archaeology of listening. Each topic has developed its own peculiar and complex analytical methodologies that require varied resources and degrees of intensity and investment in training and mentoring. This review discusses advances made over the past two decades in the research and dissemination of archaeological knowledge about East Africa. Beyond the major issues that stimulate scientific research and debates, what debates have been settled? Which emerging threats must East African archaeologists overcome to ensure a sustained practice of archaeology in the future? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Kayıkçı Parası", included in Durali Yılmaz's latest book "Köprüler Kurmak Sonsuza", draws attention by offering a different perspective on the archaeological excavations carried out by Europeans in our country and touches on how the idea of nationalism, sparked by the French Revolution, began to emerge in Europe. Nations that see themselves as the ancestors of European peoples also seek to create a current history thesis. The Germans, who took the lead in this regard, turned to Troy, described in Homer's epics, and started archaeological excavations in Çanakkale. The last person to come to the region for these excavations was the famous German archaeologist and scientist Manfret Korfmann. Apart from the excavations, Korfmann pays close attention to the local people, goes to coffee shops and tries to learn Turkish. He especially admires Turkish music. After this, the story turns into the inner journey of Korfmann in the Anatolian geography, as he searches for a great ancestor. This journey extends from Anatolia, which he sees as the cradle of civilizations, to Troy. During this journey, the author transforms Korfmann, starting from his name, in the context of language, history and culture, and presents us with a new person with a completely different identity. This transformation extends from Truva to Troy, gaining a spatial dimension as well. In this study, Durali Yılmaz's short story "Kayıkçı Parası" from his latest work Building Bridges to Eternity is analysed in terms of the transformation of humans and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the most widely used methods for understanding human-horse relationships in the archaeological record is the identification of human skeletal pathologies associated with mounted horseback riding. In particular, archaeologists encountering specific bony changes to the hip, femur, and lower back often assert a causal link between these features and prolonged periods of mounted horseback riding. The identification of these features have recently been used to assert the early practice of mounted horseback riding among the Yamnaya culture of western Eurasia during the third and fourth millennium BCE. Here, we summarize the methodological hurdles and analytical risks of using this approach in the absence of valid comparative datasets and outline best practices for using human osteological data in the study of ancient animal transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quebec City has a rich archaeological heritage. Major projects over the past few decades have documented the city's colonial past and been a model of urban archaeology, but have not addressed the question of colonialism or the instrumentalization of heritage for political legitimization. Archaeology in Quebec has yet to consider the nationalist character of research. Two recent projects illustrate the consequences of colonialist ideology on decisions made by archaeologists and authorities. Analysis at the project level shows that site interpretation has been integrated into a continental honors list of "first" sites associated with the city's UNESCO World Heritage status. A postcolonial approach is emerging, but the amendments made to the Cultural Heritage Act indicate that archaeological practice is still influenced by a neoliberal, colonialist ideology. I suggest that a postcolonialist approach should include a reevaluation of the province's history in order to develop collaborative and inclusive heritage practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 19th century, the study of shell middens has played an important role in archaeological research. Shell midden and broader coastal archaeology have transformed our understanding of human relationships with aquatic habitats, demonstrating the importance of marine environments to human evolution and ecology, the colonization of islands and establishment of maritime trade networks, changing social and political dynamics, and a variety of other issues. During the past two decades, shell midden research has greatly increased, marking an exciting time for new discoveries and heightened collaboration with Indigenous communities. Several key research trends in shell midden archaeology during the past 10–15 years include research on site distribution and temporality, underwater archaeology, historical ecology, terraforming, landscape legacies, and community collaboration. These research trends demonstrate the ways in which shell midden archaeologists are shaping our understanding of the human past and environmental change around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an obituary for the German archaeologist Prof. Dr. Otto-Herman Frey, who was particularly dedicated to the research of the Iron Age north of the Alps. He worked closely with Slovenian archaeologists and was involved in various projects, including the exploration of the Cvinger ring fort near Stična and the restoration of findings from the Kandija hills in Novo mesto. The article emphasizes the long-standing friendship and collaboration between Frey and Slovenian archaeologists such as Stane Gabrovec. Frey contributed to the research of Situla art and Celtic art, and investigated the connections between Etruscan and Celtic art. He received the highest award of the state of Hesse for his work. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents an assessment of age identities through the funerary practices of the Lower Egyptian Culture (ca. 3500 BCE), with particular attention to childhood. The case study provides an opportunity to discuss how archaeologists form interpretations on age identities through reviews of mortuary data. I claim that we should evaluate the relevance of each and every burial dimension in order to create an informed opinion, rather than provide broad conclusions based on the overall similarities or differences between age groups. Specifically, the location of the tombs has been found particularly relevant for exploring age identities. I propose that these communities recognised at least three different age identities, differentiating foetuses and infants under four months, older subadults, and adults. The role of the arrangement of the grave, corpse, and material culture in negotiating age identities, personhood and grief by mourners is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond the knowledge derived from archeological research on pre-Hispanic societies, one of the most important experiences of the binational project at Cerro de Trincheras in northwest Sonora, Mexico has been the relationship developed with the local community over more than three decades; formative to archaeologists and trinchereños. There is no doubt that my personal experience is reflected in this article, but it also summarizes the link that has been woven in multiple ways with research, training, management, and museography with community to reinterpret an element of the landscape as their cultural heritage. I present the activities that we have carried out together with the community, since the opening of the site for public visit at the end of 2011. Cerro de Trincheras is one of the few places in northern Mexico where members of a community experience public archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists acknowledge that contemporary nation state boundaries were irrelevant to precolonial populations. Notwithstanding, the boundary between the United States and México both physically and ideologically impacts language, where archaeologists are trained, how knowledge is disseminated, and what research questions are asked. Sonora's archaeology is generally classified within the Southwest/Northwest culture area; however, English publications are rare when compared to literature from north of the international border. This has created misconceptions that Sonora is an unexplored landscape and undermines decades of diverse binational collaborations and internal research conducted by Centro INAH Sonora. It also stifles our understanding of cultural connectivity across the Southwest/Northwest. The articles within this special issue showcase diverse topics in Sonoran archaeology. They range from identifying Archaic and Early Agricultural occupations to exploring contemporary community-based archaeologies. In all cases, authors reframe Sonora within larger academic discourses and to expand our current knowledge of the region's diverse culture histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly a century ago, pioneering investigations in northern Sonora led to the first discussion of Trincheras tradition ceramics. Since then, only cursory attempts have been made to understand the temporal and spatial variability of Trincheras bichrome pottery. A recent detailed attribute analysis of pottery from sites across Sonora and southern Arizona has resulted in the region's first ceramic seriation and a revised decorated ceramic typology. In this paper, I synthesize the results of this study, highlight key technological differences which occurred over nearly a millennium, and argue that the Trincheras tradition was one of the earliest producers of bichrome ceramics in the Southwest/Northwest. A revision of Trincheras ceramic typologies has been much needed and is invaluable for archaeologists working in both Sonora and Arizona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trincheras tradition thrived in the Altar, Magdalena, and Asunción-Concepción valleys from 400 to 1450 CE. In the early twentieth century, archaeologists proposed that the Trincheras people were hunter-gatherers until around 1300 CE. This study investigates whether the plant use practices of the Trincheras tradition remained consistent across different regions and through time. I compare archaeological and macrobotanical data recovered at three Altar Valley Trincheras sites dated to ∼750–1300 CE (El Póporo, La Potranca, and San Martin) and integrate data from La Playa (400–650 CE) and Cerro de Trincheras (1300–1450 CE). The results revealed that the Trinchereños were agriculturalists from 400 to 1450 CE, disproving twentieth-century archaeologists' hypothesis. Between 1050 and 1300 CE, the ubiquity values of maize were the greatest at Trincheras Altar Valley sites. However, after relocating to the Magdalena Valley around 1300 CE, the percent presence of maize decreased, while that of agave and foraged foods increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the musings sparked by an archaeologist's exploration of the Zigong dinosaur site in Sichuan as a narrative framework to introduce the basic principles of the U-Pb dating method. It covers sample collection, post-processing analytical methods, and data interpretation, providing a comprehensive overview of U-Pb dating. Additionally, the article highlights the dinosaur culture and industry in the Zigong region, showcasing the allure of this dinosaur capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine the potential of studying living things archaeologically. I adopt and expand the term 'vivifact' first proposed by Kawa, Painter, and Murray [2015. "Trail Trees: Living Artifacts (Vivifacts) of Eastern North America." Ethnobiology Letters 6 (1): 183–188. doi:], defined in this paper as any living plant or animal the appearance, features, or distribution of which can be understood as the product of past human action. The ethical considerations required by living artefacts are discussed. Different types of living things that can be grouped under the vivifact concept are then reviewed, including culturally modified trees, patterns of vegetation growth and living populations having traits selected for by past human activity. Practical approaches are described by which archaeologists can approach these resources. Two case studies are presented from Virginia, one describing vegetation survey in a wooded landscape and one examining modern sheep populations to better understand eighteenth-century sheep. However, the techniques described could be applied anywhere in the world. I propose that vivifacts are best understood through the lens of the systems that create and maintain them. The common ground uniting all living things is that they are produced and maintained by systems, and it is the examination of these systems that can serve to create a unified archaeology of living things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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