This is an Element about some of the largest sites known in prehistoric Europe - sites so vast that they often remain undiscussed for lack of the theoretical or methodological tools required for their understanding. Here, the authors use a relational, comparative approach to identify not only what made megasites but also what made megasites so special and so large. They have selected a sample of megasites in each major period of prehistory - Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages - with a detailed examination of a single representative megasite for each period. The relational approach makes explicit comparisons between smaller, more 'normal' sites and the megasites using six criteria - scale, temporality, deposition / monumentality, formal open spaces, performance and congregational catchment. The authors argue that many of the largest European prehistoric megasites were congregational places.

Palaeopathology is an evidence-based guide to the principal types of pathological lesions often found in human remains and how to diagnose them. Tony Waldron presents an innovative method of arriving at a diagnosis in the skeleton by applying what he refers to as 'operational definitions'. The method ensures that those who study bones will use the same criteria for diagnosing disease, thereby enabling valid comparisons to be made between studies. Waldron's book is based on modern clinical knowledge and provides background information on the natural history of bone disease. In addition, the volume demonstrates how results from studies should be analysed, methods of determining the frequency of disease, and other types of epidemiological analysis. This edition includes new chapters on the development of palaeopathology, basic concepts, health and disease, diagnosis, and spinal pathology. Chapters on analysis and interpretation have been thoroughly revised and enlarged.

CAA is the foremost conference on digital archaeology, and this volume offers a comprehensive and up-to date reference to the state of the art. This volume contains a selection of the best papers presented at the 40th Annual Conference of Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), held in Southampton from 26 to 29 March 2012. The papers, all written and peer-reviewed by experts in the field of digital archaeology, explore a multitude of topics to showcase ground-breaking technologies and best practice from various archaeological and informatics disciplines, with a variety of case studies from all over the world. Download the Table of Contents and a sample chapter

Paleobotanical studies are assuming an increasingly important role in archaeology, providing information on prehistoric social structures, environments, and economic concerns. This volume presents the latest applications of phytolith analysis in archaeology and paleoecology. It demonstrates the versatility of the discipline.MASCA Vol. 10

The Agricultural Revolution - including the domestication of plants and animals in the Near East - that occurred 10,500 years ago ended millions of years of human existence in small, mobile, egalitarian communities of hunters-gatherers. This Neolithic transformation led to the formation of sedentary communities that produced crops such as wheat, barley, peas, lentils, chickpeas and flax and domesticated range of livestock, including goats, sheep, cattle and pigs. All of these plants and animals still play a major role in the contemporary global economy and nutrition. This agricultural revolution also stimulated the later development of the first urban centres. This volume examines the origins and development of plant domestication in the Ancient Near East, along with various aspects of the new Man-Nature relationship that characterizes food-producing societies. It demonstrates how the rapid, geographically localized, knowledge-based domestication of plants was a human initiative that eventually gave rise to Western civilizations and the modern human condition.

In this book, Lee A. Newsom offers an overview of wood in archaeology --how and where it is preserved and analyzed, its relevance to paleoecological and paleoenvironmental questions, as well as its role as an important source of information in modern archaeological science and related historical disciplines. Her book addresses a range of questions about wood reliance practices, sustainability, and the overall relevance of forest ecosystems to past cultures and cultural evolution. Newsom provides a step-by-step treatment of archaeological analysis with clear explanations and examples from various corners of the world. She also shows how the study of archaeological wood is relevant to modern restoration ecology and conservation biology that tracks long-term ancient ecosystems, including questions of global change. Demonstrating the vital role of wood and timber resources to past human societies, her book will interest scholars and students of archaeology, historical ecology, paleoecology, and wood science.

An integrated approach to geoarchaeology, framing geologic concepts within an archaeological context-"probably the most comprehensive treatise on geoarchaeology yet written." (Vance Haynes, University of Arizona) An indispensable book for all professionals and students interested in the field of geoarchaeology, including those with limited earth-science experience, this new edition of Geoarchaeology builds on the success and innovation of the first edition and includes updates, new concepts and examples, an enhanced bibliography, and many new illustrations. The second edition begins by considering the history and theory of geoarchaeology. Rapp and Hill then move to discussions of soils and environmental interpretations; initial context and site formation; methods of discovery and spatial analyses; estimating time; paleoenvironments, landscapes, and the human past; identifying, analyzing, and sourcing raw materials; and construction, destruction, and conservation of sites and materials. "[This book] covers a wide range of topics . . . with clarity and balance. . . . [The] chapters are all well written and have concise introductory discussions that are not too detailed and not too brief. . . . Beautifully produced."-Michael Waters, Geoarchaeology: An International Journal (on the first edition)

Light has a fundamental role to play in our perception of the world. Natural or artificial lightscapes orchestrate uses and experiences of space and, in turn, influence how people construct and negotiate their identities, form social relationships, and attribute meaning to (im)material practices. Archaeological practice seeks to analyse the material culture of past societies by examining the interaction between people, things, and spaces. As light is a crucial factor that mediates these relationships, understanding its principles and addressing illumination's impact on sensory experience and perception should be a fundamental pursuit in archaeology. However, in archaeological reasoning, studies of lightscapes have remained largely neglected and understudied. This volume provides a comprehensive and accessible consideration of light in archaeology and beyond by including dedicated and fully illustrated chapters covering diverse aspects of illumination in different spatial and temporal contexts, from prehistory to the present. Written by leading international scholars, it interrogates the qualities and affordances of light in different contexts and (im)material environments, explores its manipulation, and problematises its elusive properties. The result is a synthesis of invaluable insights into sensory experience and perception, demonstrating illumination's vital impact on social, cultural, and artistic contexts.

This Element looks critically at migration scenarios proposed for the end of the Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. After presenting some historical background to the development of migration studies, including types and definitions of migration as well as some of its possible material correlates, I consider how we go about studying human mobility and issues regarding 'ethnicity'. There follows a detailed and critical examination of the history of research related to migration and ethnicity in the southern Levant at the end of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BC), considering both migrationist and anti-migrationist views. I then present and critique recent studies on climatic and related issues, as well as the current state of evidence from palaeogenetics and strontium isotope analyses. The conclusion attempts to look anew at this enigmatic period of transformation and social change, of mobility and connectivity, alongside the hybridised practices of social actors.

"The Archaeologist's Fieldwork Companion" is the only current one-volume collection of the practical information and material needed by archaeologists doing fieldwork.
Designed as a literal companion to fieldwork: a concise informational toolkit to be carried into the field
Provides lists and checklists, planning help, recording and measurement charts and tables, analysis and classification guides, information on drafting and artifact drawing, abbreviations, sample forms, and legislation concerning archaeological fieldwork
Offers additional information for processing research, such as a guide to research publication and an extensive bibliography for further resources
An invaluable aid not only to students undertaking fieldwork for the first time, but also to seasoned archaeologists

Palaeopathology is an evidence-based guide to the principal types of pathological lesions often found in human remains and how to diagnose them. Tony Waldron presents an innovative method of arriving at a diagnosis in the skeleton by applying what he refers to as 'operational definitions'. The method ensures that those who study bones will use the same criteria for diagnosing disease, thereby enabling valid comparisons to be made between studies. Waldron's book is based on modern clinical knowledge and provides background information on the natural history of bone disease. In addition, the volume demonstrates how results from studies should be analysed, methods of determining the frequency of disease, and other types of epidemiological analysis. This edition includes new chapters on the development of palaeopathology, basic concepts, health and disease, diagnosis, and spinal pathology. Chapters on analysis and interpretation have been thoroughly revised and enlarged.

European archaeologists in the last two decades have worked to integrate a wide range of emerging digital tools to enhance the recording, analysis, and dissemination of archaeological data. These techniques have expanded and altered the data collected by archaeologists as well as their interpretations. At the same time archaeologists have expanded the capabilities of using these data on a large scale, across platforms, regions, and time periods, utilising new and existing digital research infrastructures to enhance the scale of data used for archaeological interpretations. This Element discusses some of the most recent, innovative uses of these techniques in European archaeology at different stages of archaeological work. In addition to providing an overview of some of these techniques, it critically assesses these approaches and outlines the recent challenges to the discipline posed by self-reflexive use of these tools and advocacy for their open use in cultural heritage preservation and public engagement.

As in the present, past peoples commemorated, constructed, and manipulated their past for their own social and political ends. Archaeologists can use a variety of evidence to study social memory and to recover past ideas about what the more distant past was like. "Archaeologies of Memory" is a groundbreaking text that presents a coherent framework for the study of memory in past societies.

This unique collection of new essays brings together contributions from both anthropological and classical archaeologists. Essays, drawn from a variety of cultures and time periods, engage a number of common themes, such as issues of authority and identity, and the role memory plays in their creation and transformation. "Archaeologies of Memory" is an accessible investigation into the central issues in the study of memory and provides an engaging introduction to this controversial subject.

The Element summarises the state of knowledge about four styles of prehistoric rock art in Europe current between the late Mesolithic period and the Iron Age. They are the Levantine, Macroschematic and Schematic traditions in the Iberian Peninsula; the Atlantic style that extended between Portugal, Spain, Britain and Ireland; Alpine rock art; and the pecked and painted images found in Fennoscandia. They are interpreted in relation to the landscapes in which they were made. Their production is related to monument building, the decoration of portable objects, trade and long distance travel, burial rites, and warfare. A final discussion considers possible connections between these separate traditions and the changing subject matter of rock art in relation to wider developments in European prehistoric societies.

A classic in its field, "Human Osteology "has been used by students and professionals through nearly two decades. Now revised and updated for a third edition, the book continues to build on its foundation of detailed photographs and practical real-world application of science. New information, expanded coverage of existing chapters, and additional supportive photographs keep this book current and valuable for both classroom and field work.
Osteologists, archaeologists, anatomists, forensic scientists and paleontologists will all find practical information on accurately identifying, recovering, and analyzing and reporting on human skeletal remains and on making correct deductions from those remains.
KEY FEATURES:
* From the world renowned and bestselling team of osteologist Tim D. White, Michael T. Black and photographer Pieter A. Folkens
* Includes hundreds of exceptional photographs in exquisite detail showing the maximum amount of anatomical information
* Features updated and expanded coverage including forensic damage to bone and updated case study examples
* Presents life sized images of skeletal parts for ease of study and reference

This book covers the methodological, epistemological and practical issues of integrating qualitative and socio-anthropological factors into archaeological modeling. This text fills the gap between conceptual modeling (which usually relies on narratives describing the life of a past community) and formalized/computer-based modeling which are usually environmentally-determined. Methods combining both environmental and social issues through niche and agent-based modeling are presented. These methods help to translate data from paleo-environmental and archaeological society life cycles (such as climate and landscape changes) into the local spatial scale. The epistemological discussions will appeal to readers as well as the resilience socio-anthropological factors provide facing climatic fluctuations. Integrating Qualitative and Social Science Factors in Archaeological Modelling will appeal to students and researchers in the field.

New Guinea, and especially Papua New Guinea, is the last country in the world where ethnologists were able to closely observe, film and photograph the whole manufacturing chaines operatoires of polished stone felling tools, from quarry extraction to finished tool use. Research on the polished blades of PNG has evolved over the years, following changing philosophies and research agendas. While it is clear that an exceptional sum of information has been gathered, it remains centered on that small part of the Highlands where conditions for field research were more pleasant than elsewhere. Our presentation of Irian Jaya axes therefore tackles a topic that remains mostly unexplored. Until now, stone tool research in New Guinea has followed an anthropocentric approach, in which tools are seen more as vectors for social exchanges than as means of acting on the environment. This monograph will take a different approach. Here, polished stone blades are placed at the center of the world, between, on one side, the transformed natural environment, and, on the other, the social and economic environment. This approach will allow us to suggest new avenues of inference in archaeology, as well as to test and abandon existing ones.In this volume, the stone blade is considered as a living being, existing in balance within its biotope. This idea is not far removed from the beliefs of Irian Jaya farmers, for whom life animates certain objects of their material culture. Following a brief presentation of Irian Jaya, we will describe the function of polished stone blades in Irian Jaya societies and the distribution of hafting styles, define and study the quarrying zones and the areas of diffusion and use of their production, and, if possible, the different trends noted in each area of polished blade production and exchanges. Finally, we will conclude with a discussion of the ethnoarchaeological potential of these contemporary observations.

The remains of past people are a testament to their lived experiences and of the environment in which they lived. Synthesising the latest research, this book critically examines the sources of evidence used to understand and interpret violence in bioarchaeology, exploring the significant light such evidence can shed on past hierarchies, gender roles and life courses. The text draws on a diverse range of social and clinical science research to investigate violence and trauma in the archaeological record, focussing on human remains. It examines injury patterns in different groups as well as the biological, psychological and cultural factors that make us behave violently, how our living environment influences injury and violence, the models used to identify and interpret violence in the past, and how violence is used as a social tool. Drawing on a range of case studies, Redfern explores new research directions that will contribute to nuanced interpretations of past lives.

Every year, there are over 1.6 million violent deaths worldwide, making violence one of the leading public health issues of our time. And with the 20th century just behind us, it's hard to forget that 191 million people lost their lives directly or indirectly through conflict. This collection of engaging case studies on violence and violent deaths reveals how violence is reconstructed from skeletal and contextual information. By sharing the complex methodologies for gleaning scientific data from human remains and the context they are found in, and complementary perspectives for examining violence from both past and contemporary societies, bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology prove to be fundamentally inseparable. This book provides a model for training forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists, not just in the fundamentals of excavation and skeletal analysis, but in all subfields of anthropology, to broaden their theoretical and practical approach to dealing with everyday violence.

MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) undertook excavations over 2003-4 at the former St Martin's churchyard, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. St Martin's, one of perhaps eight churches of late Saxon Wallingford, was located in a prominent position in the centre of the burh. No middle Saxon activity was found and the earliest remains consisted of a layer sealing the natural subsoil which contained a probable late Saxon lead cross. Earliest use of the churchyard has been dated to the late 10th to early 11th century by radiocarbon dating, and burials continued until the end of the 14th century, serving a dwindling parish population, before the cemetery rapidly fell out of use thereafter. No burials post-date 1412. Part of the cemetery has not been disturbed by the present development. The unexcavated areas and previous post-medieval and modern disturbances has meant the original size of the cemetery remains unknown. A late Saxon mortar mixer found on the site has added to a growing number of this distinctive early constructional feature. While its presence indicates the vicinity of the late Saxon church, no foundations of St Martin's church appear to have survived cellar digging and quarrying for gravel that occurred in the early 18th century. Osteological analysis of 187 of the 211 excavated skeletons of the cemetery has depicted a lay population which was almost equally split between males and females, with only a slight bias towards males. Their distribution showed no observable cluster within the churchyard by age or gender. A high proportion of children is notable but newborns and very young children were comparatively rare. The significance of this is unclear since so many disarticulated remains were also present due to later disturbance. Both degenerative pathologies and inherited conditions affecting bone were noted, as were a high frequency of trauma, some of it violent. Generally the population could be shown to have led healthy early lives compared to other urban assemblages, although evidence of tuberculosis and iron deficiency suggest that living conditions and diet at the heart of medieval Wallingford were far from ideal. Within the excavated area of the cemetery, a number of the burials demonstrated known pre-Conquest burial rites and there are some aspects which may be peculiar to the area, suggesting local variations to common rites. Eight pre-Conquest burials had their heads supported mostly by stones, but one had his head supported by two disarticulated skulls. One 30-40 year old male was buried wearing a pierce scallop-shell, presumably a pilgrim badge from Santiago de Compostella. Four burials were interred in stone-built cists and these ranged from a c1 year old to adults of both sexes. A further six burials lay in stone-built cists without a cover. All post-Conquest burials were earth-cut examples.

Petroglyphic rock art in three valleys of Mongolia's Altai Mountains reveals the anatomy of deep time at the boundary between Central and North Asia. Inscribed over a period of twelve millennia, its subject matter, styles, and manner of execution reflect the constraints of changing geology, climate, and vegetation. These valleys were created and shaped by ancient glaciers. Analysis of their physical environment, projected from the deep past to the present, begins to explain the rhythm of cultural manifestations: where rock art appears, when it disappears, and why. The material and this remote arena offer an ideal laboratory to study the intersection of prehistoric culture and paleoenvironment.

All humans share certain components of tooth structure, but show variation in size and morphology around this shared pattern. This book presents a worldwide synthesis of the global variation in tooth morphology in recent populations. Research has advanced on many fronts since the publication of the first edition, which has become a seminal work on the subject. This revised and updated edition introduces new ideas in dental genetics and ontogeny and summarizes major historical problems addressed by dental morphology. The detailed descriptions of 29 dental variables are fully updated with current data and include details of a new web-based application for using crown and root morphology to evaluate ancestry in forensic cases. A new chapter describes what constitutes a modern human dentition in the context of the hominin fossil record.

The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Ceramic Analysis draws together topics and methodologies essential for the socio-cultural, mineralogical, and geochemical analysis of archaeological ceramic. Ceramic is one of the most complex and ubiquitous archaeomaterials in the archaeological record: it occurs around the world and through time in almost every culture and context, from building materials and technological installations to utilitarian wares and votive figurines. For more than 100 years, archaeologists have used ceramic analysis to answer complex questions about economy, subsistence, technological innovation, social organization, and dating. The volume is structured around the themes 'Research design and data analysis', 'Foundational concepts', 'Evaluating ceramic provenance', 'Investigating ceramic manufacture', 'Assessing vessel function', and 'Dating ceramic assemblages'. It provides a common vocabulary and offers practical tools and guidelines for ceramic analysis using techniques and methodologies ranging from network analysis and typology to rehydroxylation dating and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Each chapter provides the theoretical background and practical guidelines, such as cost and destructiveness of analysis, for each technique, as well as detailed case studies illustrating the application and interpretation of analytical data for answering anthropological questions.

The remains that archaeologists uncover reveal ancient minds at work as much as ancient hands, and for decades many have sought a better way of understanding those minds. This understanding is at the forefront of cognitive archaeology, a discipline that believes that a greater application of psychological theory to archaeology will further our understanding of the evolution of the human mind. Bringing together a diverse range of experts including archaeologists, psychologists, anthropologists, biologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, historians, and philosophers, in one comprehensive volume, this accessible and illuminating book is an important resource for students and researchers exploring how the application of cognitive archaeology can significantly and meaningfully deepen their knowledge of early and ancient humans. This seminal volume opens the field of cognitive archaeology to scholars across the behavioral sciences.

This book presents guidance, theory, methodologies, and case studies for analyzing tree rings to accurately date and interpret historic buildings and landscapes. Written by two long-time practitioners in the field of dendrochronology, the research is grounded in the fieldwork data of approximately 200 structures and landscapes. By scientifically analyzing the tree rings of historic timbers, preservationists can obtain valuable information about construction dates, interpret the evolution of landscapes and buildings over time, identify species and provenance, and gain insight into the species matrix of local forests. Authors Darrin L. Rubino and Christopher Baas demonstrate, through full-color illustrated case studies and methodologies, how this information can be used to interpret the history of buildings and landscapes and assist preservation decision-making. Over 1,000 samples obtained from more than 40 buildings, including high style houses, vernacular log houses, and timber frame barns, are reported. This book will be particularly relevant for students, instructors, and professional readers interested in historic preservation, cultural landscapes, museum studies, archaeology, and dendrochronology globally.