Issue 411 - June 2026

Changes in settlement patterns are often argued to reflect climatic change, which may make certain areas more or less hospitable depending on the adaptability of subsistence practices. This study models the impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on phases of occupation and abandonment over the past 4500 years at Pashimbi in the Ecuadorian Amazon. While earlier occupations and abandonments seem to correlate with climatic events, associations post-3000 BP are less clear, potentially indicating that populations adapted to wetter conditions and, the authors argue, that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation was not the main determinant in the decision to abandon settlements.

Archaeologists often designate certain anthropogenic structures as ‘monumental’, creating an architectural dichotomy that has an ascribed implicit value. This article challenges the usefulness of such differentiation, which, the author argues, does not describe objective characteristics of buildings but rather reflects a social construct rooted in the origins of the modern discipline of architecture. By exploring the assumptions inherent in current three-dimensional views and evolutionary models of architectural development, and employing ancient Egyptian architecture as a pertinent case study, this article aims to open our eyes to fundamental aspects of past architectural practices that are veiled by these frameworks.

The deep history of weaving is attested by spindle whorls and loom weights, so the evolution of techniques may be tracked through changes in these durable artefacts; however, wooden looms rarely preserve. Here, the authors document a series of loom weights and associated charred timbers and fibres that represent the remains of a Bronze Age warp-weighted loom, uncovered at the settlement of Cabezo Redondo in south-eastern Spain. Based on the number, weight and size of the weights, hypothetical reconstructions of loom setup and resultant textile products are proposed, revealing possible diversification of weaving processes in the mid-second millennium BC.

Interpretation of social identity for individuals buried in peripheral locations in Warring States Qin mausoleums (after c. 325 BC) is largely based on considerations of associated artefacts and distance from the central tomb; bioarchaeological evidence is limited. This article interrogates osteological indicators of lifelong health and activity patterns in individuals buried between the boundary ditches of the Shangzhaoyao Qin mausoleum, near Xi’an, China, providing a bioarchaeological reconstruction of their social identities. Female bias, poor health and participation in high-intensity daily activities together suggest identities associated with menial, miscellaneous labour and reflect the rigid hierarchical system of the Qin state.

Two exceptional metalwork deposits, discovered at Melsonby, North Yorkshire, together constitute one of the largest Iron Age hoards recovered in Britain. Dominated by ornate horse harness and vehicle parts, these first-century AD assemblages provide possibly the first evidence for four-wheeled wagons from Iron Age Britain. Associated geographically and temporally with another hoard found in 1843 and with the Late Iron Age ‘royal site’ at Stanwick, these deposits have the potential to broaden our understanding not only of the varied forms of wheeled transport but also of expressions of wealth, status and elite mortuary practices in Iron Age Britain.

Incense burners are frequently excavated at Roman period sites, attesting to acts of combustion within domestic ritual practices, but what was burnt is still uncertain. Here, the authors use microscopy and spectrometry to analyse burnt residues contained within two censers from domestic contexts in Pompeii and a nearby villa. Their results indicate that woody plants were burnt in both censers, either as fuel or offerings, alongside stone fruit or laurel plants and possibly wine or grapes, while traces of Burseraceae resins, originating from Asia or sub-Saharan Africa, provide the first archaeological evidence of incense offerings in the Pompeian domestic cult.

Important aspects of craft organisation, such as standardisation and artisanal skill, are encoded into the final shape of ceramic vessels. Here, the authors present a quantitative method for assessing inter-/intra-vessel morphological variation using metrics and geometric morphometrics obtained from 3D models and open-source software. Within the wider framework presented, novel analyses that assess rotational symmetry and intra-vessel variation by virtual slicing have the potential to reveal idiosyncratic motor habits of individual potters within communities of practice. Application of this approach is demonstrated through a comparison of vessels from three pre-Hispanic Colombian ware traditions, revealing meaningful patterns in vessel variability.

The large mound of Herlaugshaugen, on the island of Leka off the coast of Norway, has long been associated with the legendary storeroom (and burial place) of Herlaug, a pre-Viking king of the region Namdalen. Excavations at the site in 2023 recovered iron clinker nails and wooden fragments, identifying one of the earliest ship burials in Scandinavia. Here, the authors detail these findings and explore the significance of Herlaugshaugen in expanding our understanding of the region and its maritime connections in the seventh and eighth centuries AD, arguing that Leka may have been a node in a much wider network.

The deep evolutionary relationship between humans and intestinal parasites offers opportunities for the reconstruction of diet and living conditions in archaeological populations. Here, the authors identify eggs preserved in sediment adhering to the surface of the sacrum in Muslim burials from the Southern Necropolis at Deraheib (upper reaches of Wadi al-Allaqi, Sudan, ninth–eleventh centuries AD). Species-level identification is suggested based on egg morphology and religious taboos, revealing a high prevalence of infection by Taenia saginata, the beef tapeworm, and contributing to our understanding of diet, subsistence, climate and health in the medieval Nubian Desert.

Classic period (c. AD 300–810) governance in the Southern Maya Lowlands was characterised by a system of divine kingship with paramount rulers. What constituted ideal governing systems, however, changed over time with greater emphasis placed on power-sharing by the Postclassic period (c. AD 1000–1521). Here, the authors document a colonnaded open hall at Ucanal, Guatemala, and explore its potential role as a council house and stage for civic engagement. It was constructed during the Terminal Classic period (c. AD 810–950/1000) in the wake of major political upheaval and provides early evidence for a turn toward more collective governing in Peten, Guatemala.

In colonial settings, missionary construction projects often dramatically transformed local architectural styles and settlement patterns. The relatively young age of these activities means that colonial chronologies are often based on documentary evidence or artefact typologies rather than chronometric determinations. Here, the author explores the use of uranium-thorium dating for coral blocks from a series of missionary-style buildings with unknown construction dates in the Mangareva Islands, French Polynesia. Although some samples reveal years/decades of inbuilt age that may reflect methods of material acquisition, the dates provide new information on the construction activities of a population of Polynesian Catholic converts.

This article investigates the 2022 Yahidne war crime, during which Russian forces confined approximately 368 civilians, including 69 children, to the basement of the local school. Drawing on Jacques Derrida’s concept of hauntology, the authors explore satellite images of unfolding events and the enduring material traces of the occupation—drawings, abandoned toys, military rations, propaganda newspapers, spent military equipment and damaged infrastructure. They consider how these traces contribute to processes of collective memory and to the transformation of the site’s significance through public memorialisation, reflecting on the role of contemporary archaeology in documenting and interpreting material legacies of recent conflict.

The skeletal remains of almost 25 700 people excavated in the UK between 1869 and 2008 are unaccounted for. Although their existence is recorded in a human-remains database, their current location is unknown. Here, the authors explore the research, legal and ethical implications of this missing heritage, arguing that difficulties in accessing human remains from smaller sites or under-represented regions stifle research into past lives and contribute to the overuse and potential damage of well-known skeletal collections. To combat this, and to safeguard legacy and future collections, the authors (re)advocate the imperative for a centralised database of human remains.

Assessing the physical integrity of archaeological sites is vital for heritage conservation management. Using the example of Arslantepe, a prehistoric tell site in south-eastern Türkiye, this article demonstrates the application of RUSLE modelling to estimate surface erosion vulnerability, employing ultra-high-resolution photogrammetry and a field-based geoarchaeological framework. The results reveal contained erosion across the site with localised degradation limited to steep trench walls and spoil heaps, indicating remarkably good site conservation and consolidating the effectiveness of RUSLE modelling as a scalable method for evaluating surface processes and informing conservation strategies on individual archaeological sites.

Spanning 760km2 and identifying 603 sites covering thousands of years of (pre)history, the Mariwan Archaeological Survey provides a comprehensive examination of settlement history in north-western Iran. By employing advanced survey methods and targeting previously unexplored regions, evidence and understanding of Mariwan’s cultural dynamics and historical interactions is substantially enhanced.

The 2022–2023 Pleistocene and Early Holocene Archaeological Surface Survey in Mardin Province, south-eastern Türkiye, identified prehistoric settlements, including Şika Rika 5, that provide new insights into the early stages of settlement in the Northern Khabur Region.

The WEAR project is developing integrative methods to analyse and predict use-related shape transformation of Neolithic stone tools from Central Europe through experimental archaeology and computational modelling.

Adapting to a global urban future requires diverse, long-term perspectives on urbanism. URBank supports this by bringing together global deep-time urban datasets in a modern open-science computing platform. Its design eschews checklist definitions of cities, representing the variability of past urbanism and enabling systematic comparative spatiotemporal research.

This article examines a monumental structure in the North Pontic Steppe that was repurposed as a burial mound in the late fourth millennium BCE. The authors argue that this repurposing reflects a pattern of Yamna appropriation of ritual spaces, conceptualised as a ‘continuity of sacred spaces’.

This project investigates archaeological material collected from north-west China in the 1920s and housed at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Finds and archival materials are examined and catalogued to learn about prehistoric cultural interactions and to reconnect discoveries with the original excavation contexts and excavators.

Excavations at Kalat-e Yavar offer new insights into prehistoric connectivity between the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia. Stratified deposits yielded ceramics and burials from the third/second millennia BCE, alongside architectural remains, pits, faunal/botanical assemblages and a kiln, marking the Bojnord Plain as a cultural contact zone.

Newly discovered open-air sites along the Dorps River in the arid Karoo (South Africa), a region with uneven archaeological coverage, demonstrate multiple visits to this favoured habitat in the late Holocene Later Stone Age (c. 3000–2000 BP).

A geophysical survey at Cahal Pech, Belize, identified one of the earliest securely dated lithic caches from the Maya lowlands. Linked to Middle Preclassic (800–400 cal BC) monumental architecture and communal ceremonial events, this find demonstrates the effectiveness of gradiometry for detecting ritual deposits.

Rescue excavations at Mersin (Semnan, Iran) reveal a tightly patterned Achaemenid-period cemetery. Thirty-four graves, excavated between 2014 and 2024, combine local mortuary traditions with imperial-era objects, demonstrating how provincial communities selectively adopted imperial markers to negotiate identity and refining narratives for the empire’s north-eastern interior.

Ostrów Lednicki was a centre of the Piast dynasty (tenth–fourteenth centuries AD), laying the foundations for the development of the Polish state. A collapsed tenth-century wooden fortification associated with Bolesław the Brave (the first king of Poland) and its unique sculptural element provide insights into early-medieval construction techniques.

A community-based initiative in Ghana has mapped and partially excavated an earthwork site in the Oti region. Radiocarbon dating shows that the site was occupied between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries AD, while archaeo- and ethnobotanical research connects historical plant use with modern practices, contributing to our understanding of West African earthworks.