It is widely recognized that when marine resources form a significant proportion of the human diet, this results in radiocarbon ages for human remains that are significantly older than the contemporary atmosphere. While there has been widespread assessment of marine 14C reservoir ages, there has been little study of the freshwater equivalent. However, recent analyses of human bone from archaeological sites in the Danube Valley have confirmed the existence of a large freshwater 14C reservoir effect.

The authors examine claims that the sole surviving example of relief sculpture from the Middle Bronze of Italy or Sicily, discovered in the excavations on the island of Ustica in 1991, is a forgery that was deliberately planted on the site. Their refutation is based on examination of the photographic evidence that has been published in support of these claims.

A complete metal spindle in the Zintilis Collection sheds light on the type of spinning practised in the Early to Middle Cypriot Bronze Age. It also indicates the appearance of such spindles and the mounting of the whorls.

Ceramic models of buildings are found at later prehistoric sites in Northern Europe. Their most likely prototype is the granary. They are associated with cremation burials and the vessels may have taken this form to emphasize the relationship between death and the continuity of human life.

The burnt sacrifice of bare (defleshed) bones, described in Homer's Odyssey and well documented from Archaic and Classical Greece, is now clearly attested by burnt faunal remains from the ‘Palace of Nestor’ at Mycenaean Pylos. This evidance is of great importance for understanding both the historical role of sacrifice in Greek religion and the significance of fensting in Mycenaean palatial society.

The transition from Palaeoindian to Archaic societies in North America is often viewed as a linear progression over a brief but time-transgressive period. New evidence from the Wilson-Leonard site in Texas suggests social experimentation by Palaeoindians over a 2500-year period eventually resulted in Archaic societies. The process was neither short nor linear, and the evidence shows that different but contemporaneous lifeways existed in a variety of locales in the south-central US in the Early Holocene.

Photographs produced during archaeological fieldwork can be employed in shaping the nature of archaeological discourse in different parts of the world. Such photographs are material objects that at times show what written texts fail to say. The focus of this paper is on the photographs produced during archaeological surveys and excavations in British India between the last quarter of the 19th and middle of the 20th centuries.

A GIS intra-site application for the taphonomic interpretation of the Developed Oldowan site of Garba IV (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia) allowed the automatic data processing of more than 12,000 lithic artefacts and faunal remains lying on a 100-sq. m excavated palaeosurface dating to about 1,500,000 years ago.

This study addresses the lack of chronometric research on the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to establish precisely the timing of its adoption and spread across the northern Eastern Woodlands of North America. Bean and directly associated maize samples were subjected to accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating. The results show that the common bean apparently spread rapidly upon its introduction to the region, becoming archaeologically visible from the Illinois River valley to southern New England in the calibrated late 13th century AD, some 200–300 years later than previously thought.

The First World War is beginning to receive archaeological attention. This paper highlights the technical, ethical and political challenges, including recovery and re-burial of the multi-faith dead, excavation of battlefield features and volatile ordnance, and incorporating the sensitive management of multi-vocal landscapes as cultural heritage and tourist destinations.

Pre-Bronze Age human impacts on the East Mediterranean environment have been hard to detect in pollen diagrams and other off-site contexts. New evidence shows that despite a relatively rapid post-glacial wetting-up of the climate, the re-advance of oak woodland across Southwest Asia was slow. Among the factors likely to have contributed to the apparent disjunction between climate and vegetation is Neolithic landscape management, particularly through regular use of late-season ground fires to encourage grasses at the expense of trees and shrubs.

The authors report on investigations at quarrying sites on Mount Pua, Israel. they suggest that the area shows a degree of industrial organization from the late Lower Palaeolithic with a resultant impact on the landscape.

The authors provide the first report of a Middle Palaeolithic assemblage from Romania. The data suggest short-lived occupation and intriguing evidence of the use of ochre.

The declassification of CORONA high-resolution space photography has made a valuable new resource available for the study of ancient landscapes. Using a recent case-study from Syria, examples are given of various ways in which CORONA imagery can significantly enhance regional survey work.

The implications of new evidence are presented for the generally high level of marine diet in the coastal Mesolithic populations of Wales. Within these generally high levels, some variations may point to seasonal movement. These data provide a strong contrast with the mainland terrestrial diet of early Neolithic populations in the same area.