Due to the extractive nature of quarrying activities, quarry workers are relatively invisible within the archaeological record. Through a focus on quarry implements, we argue that scholars can identify the individuals involved in the quarrying process as well as evaluate the economic and political networks tied to the extraction of limestone resources. In the Maya region, studies of quarrying tools are evaluated based on contextual and use-wear studies; however, quarrying tools are frequently recovered from mixed assemblages. To increase the identification of quarry workers within the archaeological record, we advance a limestone-quarrier tool kit, which emerges from previous archaeological, experimental, and ethnoarchaeological research. We evaluate this toolkit using a case study from Xultun, Guatemala to consider the multiple sociopolitical identities held by Classic period Maya quarry workers.

This paper seeks to summarise and critique aspects of our understanding of the famous monumental building inscriptions from the Antonine Wall, traditionally known as the distance slabs. It addresses the following themes: uniqueness; positioning; audience and message; disposal; units of measurement; records of distance; allocation of labour; order of construction; advance preparation; and location of the eastern terminus. It draws attention to some misconceptions and misinterpretations, and offers some new insights.

The Ketton Mosaic depicts the duel between Achilles and Hector, the dragging of Hector’s body and its ransom. Despite initial associations with the Iliad in the press, this article demonstrates that the Ketton mosaic does not illustrate scenes from Homer but an alternative variant of the narrative which originated with Aeschylus and remained popular in Late Antiquity. The composition also reveals its debt to a pattern repertoire shared by artists working in media such as painted pottery, coin dies and silverware, which had been circulating in the ancient Mediterranean for many centuries. Through its textual and visual allusions, the Ketton mosaic makes a strong case for the engagement of fourth-century Roman Britain with the cultural currency of the wider empire.

Analysis of the projectile points from the Arroyo Seco 2 site allows us to evaluate their design and use from the Early to the Late Holocene in the Pampas region. The Arroyo Seco 2 projectile points are associated with events of interpersonal violence as well as hunting. Based on the techno-morphological and typological analysis and the interpretation of weapon systems, it enables us to establish differences and similarities of several point designs. The results are integrated with projectile point information from other sites in the eastern Pampas to develop a chronological sequence from the Late Pleistocene through the Holocene of projectile designs that were used throughout the period.

The use of ultrafiltration remains a subject of ongoing debate among pretreatment methods employed in radiocarbon dating of mammalian archaeological bone. However, such discourse had not previously extended to the archaeology of the Canary Islands (Spain), where detailed descriptions of laboratory processing methods for collagen purification often remain absent. Our study presents a case study involving a new set of radiocarbon dates obtained from the remains of ancient natives of Tenerife Island. For the first time in this region, we compared the results of ultrafiltered with non-ultrafiltered collagen from the same individuals, focusing on the method’s implications for dating accuracy in the Canaries. Through an examination of the cleaning protocols of ultrafilters and an assessment of the reliability of radiocarbon dating outcomes, we have found that ultrafiltration may influence the accuracy of results. However, given the additional handling required and the potential risk of contaminating the samples, its application should be carefully considered. In the context of the Canary Islands, ultrafiltration may be most relevant for samples associated with early human occupation, though further research is needed to assess its necessity across different biogeographical contexts. This communication further contributes to a broader understanding of preparation methods for radiocarbon dating bone from various environmental contexts, emphasizing the uniqueness of each case. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of our findings for archaeological research in the Canary Islands, highlighting the methodological gaps that persist in the region and underscoring the importance of ensuring the accuracy and reliability of chronological interpretations in archaeological investigations.

To anticipate relationships between future climate change and societal violence, we need theory to establish causal links and case studies to estimate interactions between driving forces. Here, we couple evolutionary ecology with a machine-learning statistical approach to investigate the long-term effects of climate change, population growth, and inequality on intergroup conflict among farmers in the North American Southwest. Through field investigations, we generate a new archaeological dataset of farming settlements in the Bears Ears National Monument spanning 1,300 years (0 to AD 1300) to evaluate the direct and interactive effects of precipitation, temperature, climate shocks, demography, and wealth inequality on habitation site defensibility—our proxy for intergroup conflict. We find that conflict peaked during dry, warm intervals when population density and inequality were highest. Results support our theoretical predictions and suggest cascading effects, whereby xeric conditions favored population aggregation into an increasingly small, heterogenous area, which increased resource stress and inequality and promoted intergroup conflict over limited productive patches. This dynamic likely initiated feedback loops, whereby conflict exacerbated shortfalls and fostered mistrust, which drove further aggregation and competition. Results reveal complex interactions among socioclimatological conditions, all of which may have contributed to regional depopulation during the thirteenth century AD.

Datasets from around the world suggest that people completed early monumental construction projects without long-term structures of hierarchy or authority. In the Maya area, some of the first monuments produced by semisedentary societies, such as those at Yaxuna and Ceibal, were built in the absence of substantial social inequality. The focus of these monuments was a relatively inclusive plaza. This article presents evidence of an eighth-century BC monumental construction at Ucí, another site that was probably not fully sedentary. At Ucí, however, the first large architecture is not inclusive. Structure 14sub5 lacks a front stairway, separating people in the plaza from those who could ascend the building from the back. The difference between the inclusivity at Ceibal and Yaxuna and exclusivity at Ucí suggests variation in degrees of inequality. Different societies experimented creatively with social and political organization. This aligns with the inherent complexity of egalitarian societies as well as the possibility that not all complex societies began as egalitarian. Consonant with the idea that people had power to act otherwise, early exclusivity at Ucí developed into inclusive forms of governance in the Late Preclassic.

Two barrel cylinders bearing a royal inscription belonging to King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) were found by chance on the surface of Tell Al-Uhaimir, which includes the remains of the ziggurat of the ancient city of Kish. Both cylinders bear the same text, which relates to the restoration work of the ziggurat é.u6.nir.ki.tuš.maḫ, whose name means “House, temple-tower, exalted abode” and is dedicated to the god Zababa and the goddess Ishtar. This is the first foundation text documenting the construction works of King Nebuchadnezzar II to restore the ziggurat of the god Zababa in Kish.

Classic Maya burials are complex archaeological contexts, shaped by distinctive depositional and postdepositional activities. To address this complexity, mortuary archaeologists have increasingly adopted theoretical and methodological frameworks from archaeothanatology. This article applies an archaeothanatological approach to the analysis of 35 burials from Group IV, a nonroyal elite residential compound at the Classic Maya site of Palenque, Mexico. The study reveals a complex funerary sequence that includes predepositional body preparation, primary and secondary depositions, and postdepositional modifications, reflecting long-lasting relationships between the living and the dead. The results provide evidence for differential treatments. Protracted rituals were conducted around elaborate burials, although they rarely included secondary skeletal manipulation. Conversely, simpler stone graves underwent reopening and secondary manipulation, and a few individuals were buried directly into the soil. Despite their differences, these activities were materializations of beliefs, which underscored the centrality of ritual interaction with the dead in Classic Maya mortuary traditions. These patterns mirror broader ritual traditions at Palenque that involved the prolonged usage of ritual spaces and burials, as well as concerns about corpses’ decay.

Chronic otitis and mastoiditis are inflammatory processes that can lead to deafness and disability if left untreated, especially in the pre-antibiotic era and in fishing communities with high exposure to infection. This study describes lesions on temporal bones found in Tzintzuntzan, a prehispanic city located near Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, in western Mexico. A multidisciplinary team analyzed a sample (N = 96) of temporal bones using morphoscopic analysis, multidetector CT scanning, and 2D and 3D virtual reconstruction. All evaluations were double-blinded using a previously standardized process and a validated questionnaire. The combination of multiple methodologies and a multidisciplinary team of evaluators improved the likelihood of classifying lesions. Nearly one-third of the lesions (31.25%) are compatible with the diagnoses of chronic otitis and mastoiditis. The frequency of these lesions is high in fishing communities such as in the city of Tzintzuntzan, possibly leading to significant hearing impairment among the population and affecting individuals’ abilities to perform essential aquatic activities.

The Neolithic of the northeastern Iranian Plateau is defined basically by the materials recovered from the twin mounds of Sang-e Chakhmaq, the West Mound and the East Mound. The radiocarbon dates from these mounds span almost two thousand years, from around 7000 BCE to the last centuries of the sixth millennium BCE, with a chronological hiatus between ca. 6700–6200 BCE. Recent excavations at a proto-ceramic Neolithic site, Rouyan, in the vicinity of Sang-e Chakhmaq, provided occupational evidence, augmented by a series of Radiocarbon dates, which fill in the long-standing temporal hiatus of the Neolithic of the region. Both 14C dates and archaeological evidence from this excavation suggests that Rouyan was founded simultaneously with the West Mound of Sang-e Chakhmaq, but its occupation continued without discontinuity into the fifth millennium BCE. The excavation also yielded a small ceramic assemblage from the earliest deposits of the site, indicating the site’s first settlers were familiar with this technology as early as ca. 7000 BCE.

In this article, we present the first results from radiocarbon dating of the Kirakle-Tobe settlement located in the central part of the Volga River Delta, southern Russia. Archaeological artifacts and 14C measurements on charcoal indicate three stages of settlement development on the Kirakle-Tobe knoll. The oldest 14C age corresponds to the Late Sarmatian period—early 4th century CE. The abundance of archaeological artifacts associated with the 6th–8th centuries CE indicates a long period of occupation. The youngest 14C age presumably corresponds to the Khazarian period (9th century CE). These results suggest dynamic human activity in the central part of the Volga River Delta during the Great Migration Period. These initial results can be used to verify the impact of fluctuations in the Caspian Sea level on the Volga River Delta during the Great Migration Period.

Archaeoastronomical studies accomplished in recent decades have revealed that the important civic and ceremonial buildings in the Maya area and elsewhere in Mesoamerica were oriented on astronomical grounds. The dates recorded by solar orientations, which prevail, and the intervening intervals composed easily manageable observational calendars that facilitated the planning of agricultural and related ceremonial activities in the yearly cycle. Here we argue that the orientations of several major buildings we measured at the archaeological site of El Palmar, Campeche, Mexico, either in the field or on visualizations of the lidar-derived relief model, reflect the same principles because they belong to widespread solar alignment groups previously identified in the Maya Lowlands. We also present ethnographic and ethnohistorical evidence that supports our interpretations. In addition, our results show that the orientations of more than a hundred minor structures in a broader area of El Palmar conform to those of major buildings, indicating that even less important structures reproduced, although approximately, the astronomically functional alignments. Along with several other Mesoamerican sites and areas where such emulations have been observed, the case of El Palmar demonstrates that the astronomically and cosmologically significant directions materialized in the built environment allow us to understand some prominent aspects of pre-Hispanic cultural landscapes.

The excavation of the site of Gatwa-sûr in the Zagros region of the Kurdistan region of Iraq has provided valuable insights into Early Christian burial practices in Northern Iraq during the Sasanian period. The discovery of an earthenware coffin adorned with symbols that highlight the presence of Christian oriented groups in the region provides new data on burial customs under Sasanian rule. This archaeological evidence strengthens our knowledge of the coexistence of different religious faiths within the Sasanian Empire. Despite the challenges posed by repeated disturbances to the burial site over ancient and modern times, the recovered skeletal remains offer crucial evidence for understanding the health, lifestyle, and demographic profile of individuals during this era. Anthropological analysis revealed common ailments such as tooth loss, degenerative osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and infectious periostitis. Additionally, the presence of enthesopathies suggests engagement in strenuous physical activities, likely related to agricultural or manual labor. The interdisciplinary approach, involving archaeologists, residents, and media, has raised awareness about the importance of protecting archaeological sites and fostering community engagement in research endeavors. Overall, the Gatwa-sûr excavation contributes significantly to our understanding of religious, cultural, and social dynamics in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in Late Antiquity, emphasizing the need for further exploration and preservation efforts in the region.

Archaeologists in North America often think of the bow and arrow as appearing more or less instantaneously, a conception baked into many culture-historical schemes. However, this specialized technology likely has a more complex history. From a single Old World origin, it is thought to have spread throughout North America from the Arctic after about 5000 cal BP. From there, it seems to have moved from north to south, but the specific timing of the arrival of this important technology is not known in great detail throughout most of California. Rather than using typological or culture-historical categories to discern this technological replacement, this study plots salient artifact attributes from a large sample of projectile points from central and northern California through continuous time to provide more detail on the timing of the spread of this important prehistoric technology. Results suggest the bow and arrow entered northeastern California before 2000 cal BP and moved southward, arriving at the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta as much as 1,000 years later. The changepoint analysis method introduced here should be broadly applicable to a wide variety of similar archaeological patterns.

The goal of this study is the presentation and evaluation of settlement patterns in the region between the Minoan palatial centres of Knossos and Malia, mainly on the north coast of Heraklion, during the second millennium BCE. The approach is based on new archaeological data from large- and small-scale rescue excavations and supervised digging activities in the context of public or private construction projects. Existing archaeological knowledge of this particular region is also taken into consideration. Following a chronological sequence, a Prepalatial (Middle Minoan [MM] IA) long wall, which is located 250 m south of the hill of Paliochora at Amnissos and belongs to a wider architectural planning of access control from the coast of Amnissos to the hinterland, is presented along with a contemporary rural installation in Stalida. An extensive settlement in the area of the Amirandes Hotel in Kato Gouves is dated mainly to the Protopalatial period and shows close affinities with Malia. Of the same date and cultural orientation is the extensive occupation near Agriana, which continues to exist in the early Neopalatial period. The Minoan settlement at Kastri in Chersonesos is dated to MM IIIB, while an earlier Protopalatial phase was also identified. A number of other sites in the district of Gouves are dated to Late Minoan (LM) III. A unique example of continuous habitation from LM IB to LM IIIB was excavated near the local primary school in Gournes. The decrease of sites in MM IIIB–LM IA and the scarcity of LM IB settlements, in contrast to the density of Protopalatial installations, confirm the centralisation of the habitation model during the late Neopalatial period, probably due to the expansionist policy of Knossos. However, the balance of power of the two palatial centres over the region under discussion shifted through time, with Malia having control of most of the area during the Protopalatial period and Knossos expanding its influence during the Prepalatial, Neopalatial and Final Palatial periods.

This paper considers the complex entanglements from which stones and stone craftspeople emerged in the precolonial Maya world. Drawing from recent scholarship that emphasizes the relational and processual nature of making and knowing, it adopts a multi-practice perspective to explore how humans transformed limestone into knowable and workable materials and how, in turn, limestone transformed humans into knowledgeable and skilled individuals. Geoarchaeological, archaeometric, and experimental data from the central and northern Maya lowlands are combined to identify choices and preferences in selecting, extracting, and processing calcareous materials, and to examine what these reveal about past knowledge and skills. We then turn our attention to the ways in which quarry workers, lime producers, and toolmakers learned to work with stone. We argue that becoming attuned to limestone was a sociomaterial process that involved repeated interactions with both material elements and social actors. Our discussion highlights the active role of limestone not only in shaping learning experiences but also in facilitating connections between diverse practices, and thus contributing to a dynamic, interconnected landscape of knowledge.

We investigated radiocarbon dates of human bone samples from several medieval sites in Trondheim, central Norway. Stable isotope data was used to estimate marine correction for the radiocarbon dates, which is necessary to correct the radiocarbon ages and establish age models for the archaeological layers. We observed that a marine correction without ΔR does not lead to a well-defined model for all sites. Allowing a variable ΔR improves the model, which indicates that food sources and trade routes have changed over time, influencing the mobility of food resources as well as of people. However, this does not work for all sites, indicating that variation of reservoir ages could also be the result of individual preferences for the food and that fish with different ΔR, and thus different geographical origin, was consumed during the same periods. Many radiocarbon and stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) measurements have been carried out for the project. We calculated %marine consumption from the isotope values and found that it varies greatly, between 7% and 51%, and apparently independent of period, social status, churchyard location or other factors. Based on these data, we determined average reservoir ages for the marine food consumed in Trondheim during different phases, varying between ΔR = –150 and 280 years.