This research presents AMS radiocarbon dating results obtained from recently excavated burials and dwellings at three sites—Xiaxinguang, Wulasitai, and Daxigougoukou—located in the Wulasitai Valley of the Middle Tian Shan Mountains and attributed to the Chawuhu culture. The Bayesian modeling of these data yields a high-resolution chronological framework for Early Iron Age activity in the valley. The results identify a tripartite sequence comprising an Early Stage (cal 900–750 BC), a Middle Stage (cal 750–400 BC), and a Late Stage (cal 400–100 BC), with potential continuity into the turn of the Common Era. The δ13C and δ15N values suggest C3 plant–based diets with moderate animal protein intake, though some individuals show nearly pure plant consumption. Furthermore, through the integration of radi ocarbon data and contextual analysis, the research underscores that the Early Stage of the Chawuhu culture was contemporaneous with the Early Iron Age occupations of eastern Kazakhstan and the Altai region. Particular attention is drawn to the significance of residential graves at Xiaxinguang and Daxigougoukou, where child burials were intentionally integrated into domestic architecture, reflecting complex social and ritual practices. Additionally, radiocarbon evidence indicates that the transition from single to multiple interments occurred between the Early and Middle Stages. These discoveries offer important insights into settlement organization, mortuary practices, and cultural dynamics in the region during the Early Iron Age.

The Fuji River flows approximately 128 km from north to south near the center of the Japanese archipelago, with its mouth located near the collision boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. To investigate the Holocene activity of an onshore subduction thrust at the northern end of the Nankai Trough, we measured radiocarbon ages of terrestrial plants and marine shells in sediments collected from across the Fuji River. Ten sediment cores, Ng-1 to 4, Km-1 to 5, and Nz-1, were obtained from an uplifted terrace to a subsidence lowland along the border of Suruga Bay. Based on analyses of lithology, molluscan assemblages, and radiocarbon dating, the cores were classified into six sedimentary facies. In ascending order, they are river channel, floodplain, estuary, estuary front, inner bay, and lagoon. These paleoenvironmental changes are primarily associated with sea-level fluctuations and tectonic movements during the post-deglacial period. The terrestrial accumulation curve aligns with the horizons of Kawago-daira pumice and Kikai-Akahoya volcanic ash. Reservoir ages of six pairs from the estuary to inner bay facies of the Ng1 core ranged from 150 ± 70 to 470 ± 60, during the period from 7900 to 6800 cal BP, and their average was calculated to be 310 ± 120 years. The chronological changes in the reservoir effect can be correlated with Holocene sediments from the coastal area of Southwest Japan under the influence of the Kuroshio warm current.

Archaeological zoontologies have tended to focus on animals with whom people of the past were regularly entangled, either in their everyday lives as companion and work animals or at least seasonally as favoured prey. In contrast, I focus on an archaeological case study representing a more ‘eventful’ form of human–animal relations: encounters between Indigenous peoples and manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostis) in precolonial Florida, USA. I review archaeological evidence that manatees were uncommon in precolonial Florida, probably only occasionally migrating north from the warmer waters of the Caribbean, thus limiting encounters with people to as little as one or two every few hundred years. I then consider both the potential transformative and stabilizing effects of such infrequent encounters for precolonial Native Americans and—to the extent possible—for manatees. Haraway famously emphasized that ‘becoming is always becoming with’, but for people and manatees in precolonial Florida, becoming may have been becoming with or without.

The Holocene clastic and organic sediments from the La Falda section (northern Puna, Argentina), covering the late Northgrippian to early Meghalayan periods, were analyzed. These sediments contain abundant plant macrofossils and microfossils, including leaves and stems attributed to Cyperaceae and Poaceae, as well as pollen. Charcoal is also present in significant amounts. The analysis of these remains provides insights into past environmental and climatic conditions. Our results suggest that palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes during this period were relatively minor, with a clear trend of geomorphological stability. Geochronological data, based on 15 radiocarbon dates, confirm through a depth-age model that no major erosion or accumulation events occurred between 4750 and 3450 cal BP.

The recently excavated double church at the site of al-Jumayil (Bishoprich of Madaba, Jordan), devoid of inscriptions, has been tentatively dated to the late 6th century CE, based on stratigraphic evidence, architectural parallels with securely dated churches, and stylistic analysis of mosaic floors. This study aims to advance understanding of the complex’s chronological development through a multidisciplinary approach. The primary methodology involves radiocarbon dating organic inclusions found in the construction mortars used for joint filling and wall coating, alongside an investigation into the mortars’ production technology. The results are integrated with data from previous archaeological excavations and relevant historical sources to refine the site’s chronological framework and address existing gaps in the architectural sequence. The results showed the use of three recipes with varying percentages of organic and inorganic inclusions to produce lime-based white plaster and dark gray mortar coatings and fillings. The results indicate that the complex was constructed in the late 6th to the first half of the 7th centuries CE and underwent stages of ecclesiastical use, destruction, and post-ecclesiastical use before its collapse and abandonment. The results are in good agreement with the regional widespread church construction during the late Byzantine period, a period of regional economic prosperity.

A previous assessment of the measurement unit employed in building the Antonine Wall compared the distance slabs with LiDAR-derived three-dimensional distances on the ground and concluded that it was the pes Drusianus. Using more precisely determined discovery locations, correcting an error in previous published calculations and making allowance for installations already built, establishes that the unit was the pes Monetalis. The wider implications are examined, concluding that postulated secondary forts were, indeed, later additions; that fortlets were an integral part of the original plan, though not all were constructed before the rampart; that there is no direct correlation between the location of the slabs and pre-existing installations; and that the Bridgeness–Avon sector was one of the earliest to be constructed.

A newly identified RPG die from Gloucester is shown to have been a repurposed quinquennales die which was modified after the officials’ year of office was completed. In the light of this a further RPG die is proposed as having been repurposed from another quinquennales die. The implications for the duration of civic die production are discussed.

River deltas play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, acting both as significant carbon sinks and as sources of CO₂ to the atmosphere. The Rhône River delta is a key site for studying these processes due to its high sedimentation rates and its unique radiocarbon signatures influenced by anthropogenic activities. This study compiles over 10 years of research to assess the sources and fate of organic matter (OM) in the Rhône River delta, using stable (δ13C) and radiogenic (Δ14C) carbon isotopes. New data from the MissRhoDia II campaign (2018) are compared with previous datasets (CarboRhone 2012; DICASE 2014) to analyze the interactions between terrestrial, riverine, and marine OM sources. The study examines sedimentary processes along a transect from the river mouth to the continental shelf, considering both sediment burial and porewater analyses. Results indicate that OM mineralized in proximal sediments is primarily of terrestrial origin, freshly supplied by the river, and potentially influenced by nuclear-related activity. In contrast, on the continental shelf, remineralization occurs at a slower rate due to the limited availability of organic substrate and isotopic signatures reveal a predominantly marine origin with a minimal anthropogenic influence. In the Rhône pro-delta sediments, the burial of radiocarbon-free organic carbon (aOC) underscores the role of sediment transport in long-term carbon storage, with contributions from both petrogenic and aged terrestrial organic carbon sources. The mineralization of young, labile carbon and the burial of more refractory carbon create significant differences between the 14C signatures measured in porewaters and sediments, highlighting the need to analyze both compartments. This study improves our understanding of carbon dynamics in the Rhône delta and provides valuable perspectives to better understand coastal carbon budgets, carbon sources, as well as the anthropogenic influence on marine ecosystems.

Archaeologists have long interpreted Arizona and Sonora’s Upper Santa Cruz valley as a precolonial “contact zone” or “frontier” between the Trincheras and Hohokam traditions. These models are heavily influenced by the contemporary US-Mexico border and outdated core/periphery models. Furthermore, although plain ware represents most pottery from this region, it has never been used to understand the populations who inhabited the region or to reconstruct local communities of practice. This article provides the first systematic study of plain ware from 23 sites across the Upper Santa Cruz. We incorporate Bhabha’s (2004) “Third Space” theory to suggest that local potter communities actively responded to changing interactions with neighboring populations for more than five centuries. By focusing our attention on local ceramic production, and critically evaluating cultural boundaries, we reposition the Upper Santa Cruz as neither a periphery nor frontier but an area rich in its own dynamic cultural expressions and regional agency.

The chronology of Late Glacial and Early Holocene dune formation and wildfire activity at the Łaskarzew site, eastern Poland, was reconstructed using a combination of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating (14C) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The stratigraphic profile records 13 aeolian-soil cycles, characterized by alternating phases of aeolian deposition, soil formation, and wildfire episodes, reflecting the interplay between short-term climatic oscillations and aeolian processes. Radiocarbon dates were obtained from 26 charcoal samples embedded within palaeosols and charcoal horizons and calibrated using the IntCal20 curve, while OSL dating of quartz grains provided additional chronological control for aeolian sediments. The integration of these two dating methods established a robust timeline of environmental changes. The aeolian activity began during the Oldest Dryas and intensified during the Allerød interstadial, with four distinct wildfire events associated with rapid vegetation recovery and fire-prone landscapes. The Younger Dryas was marked by widespread aeolian deposition under arid climatic conditions, with no organic layers preserved. In the Holocene, nine independent wildfire episodes spanning approximately 4500 years were identified, linked to warm climatic conditions and the dominance of pine forests. Aeolian activity persisted into the Middle Holocene, accumulating nearly three meters of sediment before stabilizing around 7 ka BP due to increased vegetation cover. This study underscores the effectiveness of integrating radiocarbon and luminescence dating to resolve Late Quaternary chronologies, providing insights into fire-vegetation dynamics and aeolian processes within the European Sand Belt.

Geometric, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and abstract forms comprise many of the lithic forms of Central America. Commonly called eccentrics, these forms are often recovered from ritual offerings and elite burials. This article addresses more than 80 eccentrics recovered in the Holmul region from the sites of Holmul, Witzna, and Dos Aguadas and identifies the ways that these forms can inform ritual practice, symbolic significance, and potential communities of craftspeople. Eccentric size, thinning, skill of execution, and material choice are considered across multiple assemblages.

The 14C marine reservoir age in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea has varied through the late glacial period. Here I present a curve, called Norcoast25, for the calibration of late glacial and Early Holocene marine 14C ages from the Norwegian coast. I also present a table of ΔR values that could be used for the calibration of 14C ages with Marine20. The results are based on paired 14C dates of terrestrial plant fragments and articulated marine shells found in shallow marine deposits on the outer coast of Western Norway. The shells calcified in marine water and the 14C reservoir ages represent the surface water off the Norwegian coast. The ΔR value relative to Marine20 decreases from + 300 14C yr at 14.4 cal ka BP to − 100 14C yr at 14.2 cal ka BP and is constant throughout the Allerød. At the transition to the Younger Dryas (YD) the ΔR value increases, and reaches a maximum in the middle YD of + 80 14C yr. At the YD/Early Holocene boundary, the ΔR value drops 200 14C yr. These late glacial ΔR values from Norway’s west coast are 150–300 14C yr lower than has been reconstructed from 14C-dated sediment cores from the open ocean. The Norcoast25 calibration curve can be uploaded to the OxCal calibration program. A link to the file (Norcoast25.14c) is provided at the end of the paper.

In a recent publication, Ellwood et alia (2022) presented results indicating that the LSU Campus Mounds (16EBR6) could be the oldest man-made extant structures in the Americas, that they were built in phases with a hiatus of approximately 2,000 years, and that they were used for ceremonial fires or cremations. In a subsequent publication, McGimsey et alia (2022) expressed their concerns regarding the conclusions presented in the Ellwood et alia publication. To resolve some of the controversial issues, McGimsey et alia identify six avenues for further research. In this article, we address selected aspects of four of these recommendations using synchrotron radiation (SR)–based techniques. SR-X-ray fluorescence spectra show no significant differences in the elemental concentrations of samples from various possible construction phases and in the concentration of samples from lighter-colored (ash?) and darker areas. For iron (Fe; a temperature-sensitive element) and for silicon (Si; the characteristic element for phytoliths), the corresponding X-ray absorption spectra show no significant differences in the chemical state between light- and dark-area samples. These results support neither the assumption that Mound B was built in two phases with a long hiatus nor the assumption that light-colored lenses consist of ash from hot fires.

Since 2001, I have conducted archaeological research at three of the five major Classic Maya sites of inland Toledo District, Belize. The sites are so close together that we must ask if they were parts of the same kingdom or were all separate polities with distinct local economies. I present data concerning obsidian procurement at Nim li Punit, Pusilha, and Lubaantun relevant to this question. Results demonstrate overlapping yet distinct procurement systems and imply the existence of different bounded markets and polities within a frontier zone.