Paleolithic rock shelters often include several hearths located in different parts of the site. In this paper, we analyze relevant data from Middle Paleolithic Tor Faraj rock shelter as a case study of smoke density in correlation with hearth location and functionality. Since one of the major negative fire products is smoke, which has an immediate effect on human health, we used computer simulations

Lagore, Co. Meath, has long been a type-site for artificial lake dwellings known as crannogs since excavation in the 1930s by the Harvard Expedition. Renowned for rich finds and documented as the seat of the kings of Southern Brega (8th and 10th centuries AD), alongside the high-status and royal functions of the site, it is now widely recognised that Lagore had a long history of activity stretching

Sex-specific demographic profiles of archaeological animal bone assemblages are key to being able to reconstruct the varied strategies used by ancient hunters and herders to harvest animals from both wild and managed herds. Nearly 25 years ago Zeder developed a method for constructing these profiles based on the study of a large collection of modern wild and domestic caprines that combined metric data

Archaeozoological evidence for the modification of sheep horns during Egypt's Predynastic period was uncovered at Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt. At HK6, the site's so-called elite cemetery, a grave, which was part of a larger mortuary complex dated to around 3700 BC, contained at least 6 large, castrated male sheep. One individual was polled, while four others were of the corkscrew-horn type, but their

This study presents zooarchaeological and ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses of the remains of a non-local gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) recovered from a ca. 1850s–1861 privy in New Orleans, Louisiana. This tortoise pre-dates the known import of these animals to the city beginning in the 1870s, raising questions about how and why this individual was brought to New Orleans. To address these questions

Although proteomic techniques have been increasingly used to improve our understanding of the human past, few have focussed on the study of tooth enamel for sexing in archaeofaunal remains, despite initial studies over a decade ago investigating human teeth. Here we explore the use of LC-orbitrap-MS/MS for identifying the sex of archaeological domestic cattle remains from the Neolithic enclosure at

Ostrich eggshell beads (OES) are commonly found in forager sites across sub-Saharan Africa. Although they have received a reasonable amount of investigation, the drilling technology used to perforate OES beads has received little attention. As a result, not much is known about this technology. Providing a basic tool form for these drills could be useful for future researchers to identify such tools

Central-eastern to southeastern Europe, from Bohemia to Greece is home to some of the richest ore deposits on earth, with archaeological evidence suggesting a long history of metal use. However, the exact timing and extent of past metal processing activities remains unclear. The Middle Ages and Early Modern period (c. 500–1800 common era (CE)) in Europe, saw the expansion of metal use at an unprecedented

The emergence of social complexity in human societies is a long-debated topic in archaeology, with competing hypotheses proposed and argued for using archaeological evidence. However, formal testing of these hypotheses is generally lacking. Here, we present and analyse an agent-based model to test the effect of environmental, resource, and social barriers to population movement – collectively known

Fifty years after the discovery of the Regöly grave, the emblematic Hunnic period archaeological assemblage from Hungary, an extensive scientific investigation was performed on the polychrome dress accessories of the high-status woman, often referred to as the “Princess of Regöly”, buried there. The multi-instrumental analyses aimed to characterise material and technological aspects of the gemstone-inlaid

Advancements in archaeological sciences through innovative scientific techniques applied to ancient human remains have increasingly been transforming the study of the past. Destructive analyses of bioarchaeological or palaeontological specimens such as dental histology, isotopic or elemental analysis of dental mineralised tissues, 14C dating, proteomic analysis or ancient DNA are increasingly being

Early Iron Age Iranian bladed weaponry plays a significant role in discussions of metallurgical development in the ancient Near East. Due to its ubiquity in museum collections, as well as co-occurrence of bronze, iron, and bimetallic forms, it figures prominently in debates about the early ironworking techniques in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BCE. However, dispersed collections, often lacking

The Neonatal Line (NNL) of the tooth serves as a unique identifier, allowing us to distinguish whether a child survived birth. This line is essential for assessing the age at death of infants from skeletal remains found in archaeological contexts. Our primary objective is to accurately determine the age of infant intramural inhumations from the Iberian Iron Age (8th-1st centuries BC) by analyzing histological

The enamel proteome includes a range of proteins that are well-preserved in archaeological settings but have so far received less study than those associated with sex-estimation of enamel. We look beyond sex-specific sequencing of amelogenin to investigate the potential of several serum proteins, including immunoglobulin gamma (IgG), the major immunoglobulin found in blood serum, and C-reactive protein

Here we present a novel approach that combines soil micromorphology with the analysis of magnetically oriented samples to improve the interpretation of archaeomagnetic results. The aim is to test whether irregular archaeomagnetic data can be examined with micromorphological soil analysis in a single sample methodology, allowing said archaeomagnetic data to contribute to more meaningful archaeological

Age estimation plays a significant role in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. However, widely-used traditional methods involving macroscopic observation suffer from subjectivity and statistical bias. The present research aims to minimize both issues by applying computational and mathematical approaches. A laser scanner was used to reconstruct 890 auricular surfaces of adult individuals from

Moated sites are crucial for revealing the formation of early civilizations and societies in Southeast Asia, and a significant amount of effort has been expended in investigating their distribution. This work is the first application of deep learning object detection methods to identify moated sites from time series satellite images. We presented multi-information fusion data (N-RGB) based on the fusion

Qanats are a remarkable type of ancient hydraulic structure for sustainable water distribution in arid environments that use subterranean channels to transport water from highland or mountainous areas. The presence of the qanat system is marked by a line of regularly spaced shafts visible from the surface, which can be used to detect qanats using satellite imagery. Typically, qanats have been documented

The 1st millennium CE represents a period of significant change in the agricultural landscape of southern Italy. Sheep and goats are among the most common faunal remains recovered from archaeological excavations of this period, but the contribution of these animals to the agricultural economy (particularly wool production) is often discussed through textual sources. This paper synthesises caprine taxonomic

There is a long-standing view that, in the Roman world, transport by sea and river was very much cheaper than by land. Previous analyses of transport costs have relied primarily on a few surviving historical records, notably the Edict on Maximum Prices issued by Diocletian in 301 CE. Here we outline an alternative method for deriving relative costs of transportation by different modes using materials

This paper presents the most comprehensive study of speiss from the Late Bronze Age world published so far, and the first detailed study of speiss from the Nile Valley overall. It combines the results of XRD, optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, trace element (ICP-OES and ICP-MS) and lead isotopic analysis to fully characterise two fragments of speiss from the 18th Dynasty capital Amarna in Egypt, now in the

This paper presents and discusses an experimental investigation of Bronze Age spear combat, with a focus on the impacts of bronze points against each other and other materials such as wooden shafts and shields, and animal tissues which act as a proxy for the human body.

Ants are among the soil mesofauna that cause significant bioturbation at the location of their nests. They can have significant impact on the preservation of soil features and on post-depositional artefact distribution. Moreover, there is discussion on the natural or anthropogenic nature of so-called ‘pit-hearth’ features dating to the Mesolithic. Such features are common in parts of the Netherlands

We draw attention to differences in logistic least cost rationales that emphasize the practical conditions that push people toward optimization and social approaches, which emphasize the sociocultural conditions that can pull people away from optimization. To better incorporate the prosocial tendencies of people moving through lived landscapes, we develop a socially informed least cost approach that

Parasites are the causative agents of infectious diseases that have affected humans throughout our evolution. Some appear to have been ubiquitous in past societies around the globe, but others were only viable in distinct regions where the conditions suited their complex life cycles. This review considers how we can recover and identify ancient parasites, before interrogating the literature to explore

The analysis of seeds from archaeobotanical assemblages is essential for understanding the history of crop cultivation. However, the majority of these seeds are typically found charred, a condition that not only degrades DNA, which hinders genetic studies, but also distorts their morphological features, which may bias comparisons with uncharred modern samples. While the effects of charring on several

The transition from dispersed to aggregated forms of settlement reflects a critical shift in the relative value of social and primary (food) modes of production. However, investigating trade-offs between these different forms of settlement requires estimates of the extent of community territories, including their nearby arable land. Here we demonstrate a simple algorithm to do that. Our algorithm is

This paper explores the burden of osteomalacia on pregnancy and childbirth through two cases from early medieval urban Milan. Two skeletons of female individuals with skeletal deformities and associated with 25–36 gestational weeks fetuses, excavated from the Ad Martyres and San Vittore al Corpo urban cemeteries and dated to the Early Middle Ages, were examined. Paleopathological and historical analyses

Natural terrestrial corridors have been shown to have influenced the positioning of past settlements. The scale at which this pattern-process relationship operates is often un-estimated and thus remains unclear. This paper proposes the comparison of multiple point process models as an approach for estimating the optimal scale at which this relationship is strongest. With this approach, it is revealed

Lothal is situated approximately 30 km inland from the Gulf of Khambhat on the western coast of India in Gujarat. It served as a bustling port during the Bronze Age Harappan period (2600 BCE to 1900 BCE) and was connected to a series of Harappan production and distribution centres dotted along the Gulf of Kachchh and the Rann of Kachchh. Artefacts of foreign nature found in Lothal attest to its intercultural

Methods for provenancing copper, lead, and silver using the isotopic composition of lead are well-established. Lead isotope analysis holds promise for the study of tin metal as well, as long as one accounts for the U-Th-Pb systematics of cassiterite (SnO2) and chaîne opératoire of tin production. Although Precambrian cassiterite may contain 10s of ppm Pb or more (predominantly radiogenic 206Pb), Phanerozoic

Chronic frontal sinusitis (CFS) has afflicted humanity throughout history and continues to be a significant global health issue today. In bioarchaeology, sinusitis is often diagnosed through the identification of bone alterations within the maxillary sinus cavities by macroscopic and/or endoscopic examination. However, due to the inaccessible nature of frontal sinuses, CFS specifically has not been

Cocaine hydrochloride salts are one of the most commonly used drugs of our days, yet there is very little hard evidence regarding when people started consuming such an extensively popular drug in Europe. In this paper, we report the exceptional finding of Erythroxylum spp. in human remains dated to the 1600's in Milan, Italy.

In recent years, the field of archaeological dermatoglyphics has sought to use the ridges of ancient fingerprint impressions to infer demographic information about their creators. Although such a pursuit is inherently challenging, a recent method used in publications (the “Age-Sex Identification Matrix'' approach) relies on flawed assumptions that produce unacceptably inaccurate results. Among other

Extensive research carried out during the last 30 years in the lowermost foothills of the Southern Pyrenees has revealed the significance of this area for studying Neanderthal lifestyle and settlement histories in the Iberian Peninsula. With a large number of cave and rock shelter sites, broad-ranging chronologies, and relatively well-known sedimentation rates and environmental conditions, this enclave

Small figurines made from fired clay belonging to the Gravettian (Pavlovian) culture (30–25 ka cal BP) represent one of the main forms of spectacular Palaeolithic art. The most well-known example is the Venus from Dolní Věstonice I in the Czech Republic, which is the biggest and best-preserved human figurine made from clay. Due to its high cultural value, exploration of the internal structures of this

Most of the fundamental methods for analyzing archaeological dog remains need to be better developed. This is particularly true for methods designed to estimate age at death. Most ageing methods are either destructive and specialized or useful only for identifying juveniles. Cranial suture closure and obliteration patterning are commonly examined to estimate the general age at death of human remains

The identification of ceramic forming techniques poses challenges, particularly when different primary and secondary forming techniques are combined, or when specific surface treatments obscure potential diagnostic features. As emphasized in the existing literature, a comprehensive approach should consider all potential sources of information. In this study, we employed a combination of macroscopic

In the field of material culture, seriality refers to the serial production of nearly the same object in terms of shape and size, yielding visually identical artefacts. Subtle variations may nevertheless occur, depending on the technologies used, or the number and reliability of moulds, for example. Geometric morphometrics based on landmark analysis, along with accompanying statistical techniques,

Stable isotope studies of bone collagen are widely applied in an attempt to understand the history and range of modern human and earlier hominin diets. The nitrogen isotope system has been extensively applied to the human bioarchaeological record to predict dietary protein sources, as nitrogen isotope ratios roughly track the trophic positionality of an organism. While the ratio of nitrogen isotopes

The Tacna region in southern Peru hosts archaeological remnants of Pre-Columbian period human occupations, including the Miculla Petroglyphs. Existing methods for dating these petroglyphs present substantial uncertainties and are subject to claims lacking objective validation. This study employs advanced hyperspectral analysis, specifically utilizing the SPECIM IQ camera, to reevaluate existing chronological

Many Maya archaeological areas are not comprehensively or systematically mapped because ruins, often hidden under tropical forest canopy in rugged terrain, can take decades to locate, identify, and map. Recent years have seen an explosion of lidar data collection, and machine learning provides a way to exploit these lidar data, making feature analyses more efficient and consistently executed. At present

Archaeological investigations recently conducted at the site of Tajiasi, a Middle Shang bronze casting workshop, have led to the discovery of abundant metallurgical micro-remains from various stages of bronze production processes. Lead isotope analysis of these samples has given fresh insights into the discussion about the origin of the metal sources employed during this period. The copper melting

In archaeological contexts, identifying processes of beer production and consumption has contributed to our understanding of agriculture, labor mobilization, economic surplus, feasting, gender dynamics, social structure, tribute, community, identity and politics. Nevertheless, in the absence of pictorial representations and characteristic objects, beer brewing is difficult to identify in the archaeological

The discovery of a set of beads, comprising both Sicilian amber and resin-coated beads in the Middle Bronze Age burial site of Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain), has sparked inquiries into whether the coating was intended for imitation or counterfeiting of amber. We assert that human-made materials, such as bead coatings, are intentionally conceived, designed, and crafted to fulfill specific

This study recreates aspects of the life and death of a young adult male who died during the siege of Roca Vecchia, a Bronze Age fortified coastal site in Italy. The partially charred and unburied individual, Roca US813A, was found among the debris in the southern room of the main gate to the city.

Lost-wax casting is a metalworking technique that has long been regarded as an innovation imported from the eastern Mediterranean and only widely used in Western Europe since the Late Bronze Age. We now have evidence that this technique was in fact largely in use from the Middle Bronze Age onwards for the production of copper alloy adornments in the Atlantic area. Along with palstaves, these objects

This paper introduces a novel micro-photogrammetric application for the examination of technological traces using a portable digital microscope. The aim is to evaluate its potential, advantages, and level of detail within the context of traceology studies, highlighting its importance in particular for field documentation of unmovable items. The technique is non-invasive and applicable to samples that

The study of Neanderthal-Environment interactions very often lacks precise data that match the chrono-geographical frame of human activities. Here, we reconstruct Neanderthals’ hunting grounds within three distinct habitats using dental microwear analysis combined with zooarchaeological data. The predation patterns toward ungulates are discussed in term of frequency (NISP/MNI) and potential meat intake

Accurate estimation of biological sex in archaeological human remains is critical when considering demographic, resource partitioning, and various sex-based cultural issues in historic societies. Recent developments in paleoproteomics of enamel have allowed for the estimation of biological sex through sex chromosome-linked amelogenins. This method is highly advantageous when traditional osteological

One of the main interests in the interpretation of the archaeological record and its variability within and through time and space is the production and use of past human stone tool technologies. Tool design and function are inevitably intertwined and strongly related to tool use. Understanding tool design provides information about early human technological adaptations and reflects human behaviour

Due to methodological advances in the archaeological sciences, an increasing number of archaeological specimens undergo destructive sampling. However, the preservation of cultural heritage is a primary concern. This leads to a dilemma between accessing sample material and obtaining sufficient information for a meaningful analytical outcome. Ideally, sampling a specimen would preserve the object for

In stone artefact studies, researchers often rely on qualitative classifications to describe flake scar arrangements on cores. While this approach provides a broad overview of core reduction patterns, its application can be ambiguous due to the three-dimensional complexities of core geometry and the subjective nature of qualitative classifications, making it challenging to objectively compare flake

Evidence of different compound resin-based adhesives is present in South Africa from at least 77000 years ago. Ancient glue production is considered one of the oldest known highly complex technologies, requiring advanced technological and mental abilities. However, our current knowledge of adhesive materials, recipes, and uses in South Africa is limited by the lack of in-depth analysis and molecular

Building the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site of Liangzhu City and its hinterlands was an enormous undertaking that required an unprecedented level of architectural innovations, clever logistic planning, and sophisticated labour organisation. We draw on environmental, archaeological and experimental data on the preparation and construction of grass-wrapped clay blocks at the Liangzhu City and investigate

The archaeological analysis of Historical mobility is an increasingly studied topic thanks to new geographic information technologies. This paper proposes a modelling exercise of the spatial behaviour of a Second Iron Age community in the Middle Tagus Valley: the hillfort of Villasviejas del Tamuja (Botija, Cáceres). Based on our knowledge of the configuration of the site and the surrounding settlements

The bleeding phenomenon, a persistent and widespread issue in the application of cobalt-bearing pigment during porcelain decoration, has spurred different civilisations to develop various response strategies to alleviate this problem. In this study, we challenge the prevailing hypotheses concerning the role of composition and viscosity in determining the bleeding effect on blue-and-white wares, proposing