This study is the first gendered study of the prehistoric rock art of Naquane National Park in Valcamonica, northern Italy. Its purpose is to identify and describe gendered representations and imagery in the rock art of Naquane, in order to reconstruct potential gender roles, gender relations and ritual activities during the Bronze and Iron Age periods. The social role of art in non-western cultures is explored, as well as recent work on gender studies in archaeology and rock art, with a view towards placing the prehistoric rock art of Naquane within a social and cultural context. Gender-specific access to and usage of the rock art sites during successive phases of prehistory is considered and analysis is presented of the possible rituals being portrayed in the rock art and their potential social implications. Discussion also focuses on the social and ritual construction of femininity and masculinity during different chronological periods, as well as upon possible gendered motifs and sexual imagery in the rock art. The study concludes with a discussion of the incidence of over-carving and the incorporation of earlier images into later rock art panels, considering potential reasons why certain earlier carvings were actively curated among the predominantly male-orientated Iron Age rock art.

Understanding Paleolithic animal exploitation requires a multifaceted approach. Inferences may derive from research on paleoenvironments and taphonomy, the development of new methods for interpreting seasonality patterns, and ethnoarchaeological observations. A full understanding of Paleolithic economies also requires a multiregional perspective. This volume brings together a group of scholars with research interests from across the globe to understand the nature of animal exploitation practices through the lens of taphonomy. The chapters include case studies on the types of animals that Paleolithic peoples hunted and gathered through time and space, and taphonomic analyses of non-human animal bone assemblages.

This work is a revealing study of the enigmatic Indus civilization and how a rich repertoire of archaeological tools is being used to probe its puzzles. The Indus Valley gave rise to one of the most sophisticated civilizations of the Bronze Age, an extraordinarily peaceful society that developed everything from a complex political organization to sanitary plumbing to a rich mythology. Then it vanished, forgotten by history for centuries, until remarkable finds in the 1920s led to its rediscovery. The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives takes readers back to a civilization as complex as its contemporaries in Mesopotamia and Egypt, one that covered a far larger region, yet lasted a much briefer time (less than a millennium) and left far fewer traces. Researchers have tentatively reconstructed a model of Indus life based on limited material remains and despite its virtually indecipherable written record. This volume describes what is known about the roots of Indus civilization in farming culture, as well as its far-flung trading network, sophisticated crafts and architecture, and surprisingly war-free way of life. extraordinary methods that have brought it back to life.

Rock Art Studies: News of the World VI, like the previous editions in the series, covers rock art research and management all over the world over a five-year period, in this case, the years 2015 to 2019 inclusive. The current volume once again shows the wide variety of approaches that have been taken in different parts of the world and reflects the expansion and diversification of perspectives and research questions. One constant has been the impact of new techniques of recording rock art. This is especially evident in the realm of computer enhancement of the frequently faded and weathered rock imagery. As has been the case in past volumes, this collection of papers includes all of the latest discoveries, including in areas hitherto not known to contain rock art. While relatively little has happened in some areas, a great deal has occurred in others. Rock art studies continue to go through a period of intense scientific and technological development, but at the same time - due to the problems of preservation and vandalism - it is crucial to educate local people and the young about the importance of this fragile heritage.

Collaboration by the universities of Sheffield and Kalmar and Stockholm in Sweden led to two conferences being held. The second, held at Sheffield in 2006, sought collaboration and the sharing of information on archaeological data and theoretical thought on material culture diversity in the third millennium BC. Nineteen papers are presented in this volume arranged under three headings: material culture diversity in the Baltic; British Beaker burials and the Beaker People Project; Stonehenge and the Stonehenge Riverside Project. General overviews and wide-ranging discussions are joined by results from particular field orr laboratory projects.

This collection of essays look at the availability and use of lithic raw materials across the Near East. The essays each cover a particular region, with an introductory article which sets out the key issues in the study of chert exploitation in the Near East, and reviews the hitherto available research.

This work sets down the results of the author's excavation and fieldwork in west Wales within the framework now emerging for British early prehistory. Whilst much of the new data assembled here is thus relevant to the early Flandrian settlement of Wales, the coverage has been extended to include a consideration of the evidence for Late Pleistocene settlement as well. This arises not only from the author's interests but also from the fact that both Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic find-spots are co-located if not at the same find-spot then frequently in the same area. In chronological terms, the scope of the work therefore extends from c. 250,000 BP to c. 5,000 BP, but concentrates specifically on the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic record. Chapter II sets out to summarize the Pleistocene archaeological record for Wales against what is known of the environmental background. Only after the late Devensian glacial maximum, does this record become in any sense prolific in Britain. In Chapter III the discussion moves on into the Flandrian to consider the early Mesolithic settlement of Wales. In Chapter IV a further very important Mesolithic find-spot is introduced. This is the well-known flint 'factory' at The Nab Head on the clifftop of St. Brides Bay, west Wales, recognized since the last century as a prolific source of flint tools and chippings. Later Mesolithic technology in Wales is introduced and discussed in Chapter V. Additional chronological and environmental data are assessed followed by a description of some of the other important Welsh find-spots with 'narrow blade' material. Amongst the latter is a newly discovered site at The Nab Head (Site II) - described in Chapter VI - where the writer conducted excavations in 1981, 1982 and 1986. Using the results from the excavations at The Nab Head to predict the probable appearance of local late Mesolithic stone technologies, Chapter VII then discusses collections made by the author from the abundant lithic scatters along the coastal lowlands of north-west Dyfed. Earlier research sought to place a greater emphasis on the high biotic potential of western coasts and the advantages of a combined exploitation of both terrestrial and marine economies. This latter theme is taken up again here in the final part of Chapter VII, which assesses the economic resources potentially available during the late Mesolithic and speculates upon the exploitation and settlement patterns responsible for such apparently intensive coastal activity. The significance of coastal regimes to the emergence of farming at the end of the Mesolithic is also considered. Finally, a concluding Chapter briefly notes some of the more significant results of this research and ends by emphasizing the need both for more freshly excavated data and the further application of AMS dating throughout the periods covered.

Intrigued by this mundane, ubiquitous vessel, the author of this study began to collect data from amphora related burials with the intention of drawing parallels between Roman lifestyles and changing funerary practices in Gaul. As the data collection grew, it became apparent that not all of the burial contexts that contained amphorae qualified as elite burials. Some contained sherds rather than complete amphorae, together with potsherds and fragmentary goods. Convinced that sherd burials hinted at a localised tradition, details were added to the growing database of evidence. This study therefore aims to understand this relationship through interrogation of the reasons for the selection of amphorae and their treatment in the light of mortuary practice. While amphorae are still the key to this study, it is recognised that the significance of the vessels must be relative to cultural and social contexts; therefore the focus of this study widens from being a study of amphora in burials to a study of funerary behaviour and attitudes in which amphorae are incidental. The work is divided into three parts. The first section explores the development of feasting rituals in Iron Age Europe using the evidence of mythic literature, classical texts and iconography. Chapters 2 and 3 identify, describe, differentiate and analyse the feasting customs of Greek and Roman societies in order to lay a foundation for a comparative interpretation of Celtic or Gallic feasting ritual in Chapter 4. Chapter 4, as well as reviewing the classical observation of authors such as Tacitus and Strabo who describe the Gauls through Roman eyes, also introduces the corroboration of later Irish mythic in which 'Celtic' feasting plays a part. In Chapter 5 the textual sources are supported by the artefactual evidence of feasting vessels, furnishings and accommodation which were particular to feasting. Chapter 6 comments on the rise of powerful individuals and the social changes which may have culminated in a series of Gallic burials containing wine-related vessels. In part II three chapters are concerned with the disposal of both human and non-human material. Chapter 7 lists 265 Late Iron Age burials of Gallic Europe which contain amphorae, either in complete or sherd form. Though the initial recording of interments may have been included in a cemetery record, in this instance each burial is treated as a unique ceremony and is accorded an individual account. The amphora burials of the Champagne region are considered in full detail in Chapter 8. A body of evidence presenting similar ideology to that of amphorae burials is that of 'funerary' pits, which contain artefactual deposits associated with wine. These are considered in Chapter 9. Part III, the concluding Chapter 10, provides an interpretation of the assembled evidence, and attempts to justify conclusions.

5 papers from the session on Atlantic Megaliths from Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liege, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001. Contents: 1) An Introduction to the Atlantic Megalithic Complex (A.A. Rodriguez Casal); 2) The Megalithic Complex in Cantabrian Spain (P. Arias, A. Armendariz & L. C. Teira); 3) Le phenomene funeraire dans le Pays Basque pendant le Neolithique et lage des metaux: contextes culturels (J. Fernandez Eraso & J.A. Mujika Alustiza); 4) On the Life-Histories of Megaliths in Northwest Iberia (M. Martinon-Torres); 5) Research on the Megalithic Culture of Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula) During the Last Century (A.A. Rodriguez Casal).

This study focuses on the management of raw materials used in early ceramics production (late Neolithic to early Bronze Age) in the north-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsular (Catalonia). The main aim of the study was to attempt to understand some aspects of the socio-economic organization of the ancient inhabitants of the area. The objective was not only to describe the archaeological material and put forward some economic and chronological hypotheses, but also to define some aspects of the social structures. Special consideration in this study was paid to the Bell Beaker finds and the work contains detailed scientific analyses of the finds. Spanish text.

During the transition to the early Neolithic, a number of changes took place among the hunter-fishers of southern Norway. One of the most important social changes may have been the development of more marked ethnic boundaries, which were related to increasing social inequality among the local groups. In this study, the main theme is the investigation of whether such ethnic boundaries can be delineated. The author identifies them archaeologically, and discusses how and why they were established and maintained.

Merryn Dineley's thesis is based on the premise that the biochemical laws that govern the processes of malting, mashing and fermentation remain unchanged throughout the millennia'. She therefore uses the results of scientific experimentation to search for evidence of ale and brewing amongst Neolithic residues. Following a discussing of the actual brewing process and later Viking and medieval embellishments, the study discusses the evidence for barley in Egypt and the Near East, the first evidence of grain in neolithic Europe and ceramic, environmental and structural clues for brewing in Neolithic Orkney and Grooved Ware sites in Britain.

By the late Bronze Age the Irish had become masters in metalworking anf the range of objects produced was in stark contrast to those of the earlie Bronze Age. This study presents a comprehensive analysis and reconstruction of late Bronze Age metalworking practices through artefactual evidence and also experimental work and ethnography. Simon O Faolain's research draws on evidence of raw metal/ingots, clay crucible remains, moulds, wooden templates, metalworking equipment as well as the finished objects themselves, and archaeological evience for sites associated with metal production or associated ritual activities. (A catalogue of metalworking sites is given at the back.) Particular attention is paid to the production of late Bronze Age swords. All the evidence is then summarised and placed within the context of metalworking practices, technology, the organisation of production and late Bronze Age society,

These nineteen papers form the proceedings of Section 8 of the Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress held at the University of Liege in 2001. They focus on the iconography, symbolism and ideology of Rupestrian art from the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic perids. Supported throughout by illustrated examples, the papers discuss: the anthropological information revealed by Rupestrian art; the purpose and vocabulary of cave art; the themes and mythology; comparisons with the art of Native Americans. The volume includes case studies which cover evidence from Spain, Siberia, the Alps, the Dordogne, Lake Onega in Russia, Denmark, Norway and central Europe. Ten papers in English, the remainder in French.

Based on original fieldwork, historical evidence and interviews with local inhabitants of central west Greenland, Clemens Pasda's study looks at the nature of caribou-huntuing in the past and present, and the types of sites utilised. He argues that some of the sites were used like hotels, some being re-used many times when the same routes were taken year after year. His study identifies a series of site-types from camps established at fjords, large camps at the ends of routes along lakes and rivers, typically located in the centre of caribou areas, and smaller sleeping/resting places in the hinterland, often used as processing camps.

The complex archaeological and geological legacy that North Somerset boasts often means that certain periods may be ignored. Jodie Lewis's report focuses on the sometimes neglected Neolithic evidence found all over the area, looking at well recognised sites, such as Stanton Drew and Stoney Littleton, and performing an in depth survey on the area as a whole. The study critically assesses the evidence for Neolithic activity in Northern Somerset, and includes an analysis of the monuments, cave deposits and flint scatters, as well as presenting new data and interpretations.

A celebration of Patricia Smiths distinguished career, the papers presented in this Festschrift focus on a region and research topics that have fascinated and challenged her since her student days. The broad intellectual and geographic range covered by the papers offers a wealth of information and insights into the biology of past and present populations of the Eastern Mediterranean, a region rich in history and human diversity.

This work examines spatial variability within and between structures in the Neolithic Eastern Mediterranean and goes on to explore a number of equally significant theoretical issues that play an important role in the understanding of the particular topic. These were matters related to the way spatial information is approached by archaeology and the degree to which the archaeological record is sufficient to provide information about activity areas and changes in the use of domestic space. The work therefore sets information about structures and their furnishing in a wider methodological and theoretical context. Included are extensive analyses tables of data on sites and finds.

Papers from the session Social Inequality in Iberian Late Prehistory presented at the Congress of Peninsular Archaeology, Faro, 2004.

8 papers from Section 16 (Asian and Oceanic Prehistory) Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liege, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001. French and English."

Who built Avebury and Stonehenge? Why and when were more than 600 stone circles, and thousands of barrows and cairns, erected in prehistoric Britain? What were they used for and what do they tell us about the beliefs and culture of their builders? Riddles in Stone is a history of the extraordinary variety of answers that have been given to those questions, by amateurs and professionals, archaeologists and astronomers, mystics and system theorists. While modern excavation and radiocarbon dating has undoubtedly advanced our knowledge of the sequence and date of the monuments, their purpose and meaning is still today hotly debated . Indeed no previous century has changed its mind so often as the twentieth - or provided such a welteer of conflicting opinions. Each theory has as much to say about its own time as it has about prehistory. The stones have been used to enhance the authority of the Bible, to endorse the civilizing mission of the British Empire - and to argue that the Ancient Britons could work a computer. In a reaction to modern industrial society, they have been credited with spiritual powers and natural energies.Even the views of modern archaeologists often reflect the latest adademic fad, rathen than a lasting solution. Riddles in Stone: Myths, Archaeology and the Ancient Britons is an entertaining and instructive account of a debate on a subject of endless fascination. Richard Hayman is an archaeologist. He read archaeology at University College, Cardiff, and has subsequently specialised in post-medieval archaeology, while maintaining his early interest in prehistoric monuments. He has also worked as a photographer.

This book provides the most up-to-date examination of the changing burial practices in Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age South Germany, a pivotal period and region in European Prehistory. Despite the richness of the archaeological evidence, only cursory discussions of the material have so far appeared in English. This major study not only provides a detailed synthetic account of mortuary practice and its related material culture but it is the first attempt to explore the relationship between material culture change and human 'subjectification', the process in which people subjectify themselves by establishing a relationship with material culture, in order to construct their own identity.

This volume, another in the series publishing the acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress held at the University of Liege in 2001, comprises fourteen papers from the field of palaeoecology. Contributors examine flora and fauna, cave sediments, nutrition and the origin of agriculture, covering the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age, at a number of sites, predominantly in western Europe. The Out of Africa' question is also discussed. Papers in French and English; all with abstracts in both languages.

Visual Culture, Heritage and Identity: Using Rock Art to Reconnect Past and Present sets out a fresh perspective on rock art by considering how ancient images function in the present. In recent decades, archaeological approaches to rock paintings and engravings have significantly advanced our understanding of rock art in regional and global terms. On the other hand, however, little research has been done on contemporary uses of rock art. How does ancient rock art heritage influence contemporary cultural phenomena? And how do past images function in the present, especially in contemporary art and other media? In the past, archaeologists usually concentrated more on reconstructing the semantic and social contexts of the ancient images. This volume, on the other hand, focuses on how this ancient heritage is recognised and reified in the modern world, and how this art stimulates contemporary processes of cultural identity-making. The authors, who are based all over the world, off er attractive and compelling case studies situated in diverse cultural and geographical contexts.