Forgetting, and having recourse to unremembering the past, is useful for different populations. The modern world has provided a range of examples, but the effectiveness of short-term amnesia has not always been highlighted in archaeological scholarship. In this article, a case study from the Roman-period Netherlands highlights that the significance of memory-making in the past may have been overstated. Especially among those societies living under imperial rule, forgetting played an important role, one that calls for more critical focus and understanding. The utilization of cross-cultural and historical examples provides the background for a close analysis of the remains from a single graveyard. The study brings out the repeated amnesiac changes that indigenous groups underwent to adapt themselves to the continuing fact of occupation.

This article examines a frequently overlooked aspect of cuneiform writing in Egypt: the materiality and technology involved in the production of cuneiform tablets, with a particular focus on the process of tablet firing. It is argued that firing was an integral part of tablet production that required learning and practice by the Amarna scribes. The successful firing of tablets to temperatures around 800°C is attributed to the robust and longstanding tradition of tablet manufacture in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, northern Syria and Hazor. In contrast, the lower firing temperatures observed in tablets from Egypt, Alašiya and much of the Levant are associated with the production and firing of cuneiform tablets as a recent technological innovation that required thorough mastery.

This paper explores the evolving landscape of comparative research between ancient Egypt and China, focusing on various aspects such as culture, writing systems, political economy, and motivations behind these comparisons done in China and international environments. Embedded with the historical context, motivations and methodologies of scholars engaged in this comparative endeavour, the authors suggest that such research is linked to modern China's intellectual history and global engagement. It discusses potential motivations, including economic factors, national agenda and interdisciplinary integration. The authors also raise the need for more deliberate theorizations of Egypt–China comparisons, emphasizing the importance of greater reflexivity and inclusivity in shaping the trajectory of comparative studies. Overall, the document sheds light on the complexities, motivations and potential impacts of Egypt–China comparative research, highlighting its relevance in understanding both historical civilizations and contemporary global dynamics.

The examination of funerary landscapes in ancient Egypt has traditionally encountered challenges in establishing comprehensive perspectives that could facilitate the formulation of theories explaining the paradigms governing the creation and evolution of these spaces. Indeed, in recent decades, with the advent of new methodological and epistemological approaches, certain foundational principles explaining the placement of necropolises, the organization of tombs and the symbolism inherent to these environments have been called into question. This article seeks to introduce a fresh perspective on the Egyptian funerary landscape and its role in shaping cosmogonic narratives, establishing sacred spaces and contributing to the cultural transmission of these elements. Employing a methodological framework rooted in emerging fields of study like cognitive archaeology, fractal geometry and a reexamination of Egyptian protoculture, we aim to provide a novel understanding of this landscape. Given the evidence we have presented, it has become necessary to articulate a new concept that crystallizes these innovative viewpoints and offers a fresh interpretive framework for the study of landscape archaeology, not only within Egyptology but also in the broader realm of archaeology as a whole.

Behavioural studies suggest that awareness of one's mortality, known as mortality salience, enhances the inclination to respond positively to prevailing societal values, fostering an adherence to social practices, for example, the treatment of the dead. Nevertheless, when acceptance of these societal values wanes, there is an increased motivation for their modification. This results in a series of subtle changes that eventually reshape the entire set of practices that define a community's social identity. This paper delves into the impact of mortality salience on the emergence, maintenance, and evolution of mortuary practices in south and west Messenia during the Middle Helladic and Late Helladic periods (c. 2050/2000 bce to 1200/1190 bce). This analysis explores how individuals addressed their mortality salience by adjusting their proximal (e.g. practices) and distal (e.g. ideology) defences. Moreover, it incorporates the notion of the ‘taming of the terror’, suggesting that individuals may adopt new practices as a strategy to manage or alleviate the fear associated with mortality. The analysis explores the introduction of new practices, providing valuable insights into how people navigate and comprehend the existential challenges brought about by the recognition of their mortality.

The last 20 years have seen growing attention in Scandinavian archaeology towards the study of the Iron Age household. The aim of this paper is to challenge the conceptions of what the household is and argue for the potential in approaching households as heterogenous, emergent assemblages, with an untapped potential in diachronic and spatial studies. Inherent in the vast archaeological record of the Scandinavian Iron Age is a capacity for broader perspectives to explore household processes’ duration and change. Drawing on theoretical insights from the Communities of Practice (COP) framework and assemblage-based thinking, the paper accentuates the household as a key arena for learning, knowledge and identity formation and a heterogeneous unit bound up in changing spheres of interaction. Household practices, or the shared repertoire of households, represent analytical mechanisms that allow for the study of variation, continuity and recalibration, thus providing essential entry points to studies of social processes.

While increased focus in recent decades has been paid to conceptions of time in archaeological interpretation, comparably less attention has been afforded to the way in which we ourselves conceive of time in the construction of chronologies to periodize the past. In this paper, I focus on the tripartite chronology utilized by scholars of the Precolumbian Maya as a case study to explore the potential of a critical approach to archaeological chronologies and periodizations. By examining the chronology's origins and the intellectual histories which underpin it, I demonstrate that the issues at stake are more than questions of temporal accuracy but, rather, matters of reflexivity. Through a process of ‘sublimation’, problematic assumptions and mentalities upon which periodizations were originally constructed are obscured in contemporary usage, leading to the perpetuation of outdated tropes and a conceptual path dependency in narratives of the past. Conversely, appreciating the arbitrary nature of chronological demarcations and treating such frameworks as negotiable and open to revision is a powerful tool in opening up new interpretive possibilities to the narration of the past.

Zoroastrians are one of Iran's religious minorities, who managed to survive pressures and adversities during many centuries after the rise of Islam. Despite threats and dangers, this minority always tried to resist the pressures and maintain their identity and social cohesion with some measures. Aqda Cave is one of the examples of material culture left by the Zoroastrians, which can be very helpful for a better understanding of the preservation of their identity and social cohesion over time, a heritage that, based on the assessment of social values, can be effective in the sense of identity, sense of place and sense of belonging of this community. The presentation and preservation of this cultural heritage with the help of Zoroastrians will provide a foundation to acknowledge their rights and construct a respectful character for this minority group. Consequently, the preservation of this heritage could be an attempt to respect cultural diversity, heritage rights and equity as the factors of inclusive social development and world peace.