The manual identification of ancient agricultural terraces is time-consuming and subjective, limiting large-scale archaeological landscape documentation. This study applies deep learning to detect ancient terraces in the Bozburun Peninsula, southwestern Turkey, a historically significant Hellenistic landscape. Four U-Net–based architectures were implemented—early, intermediate, and late fusion, along with an RGB-only baseline—integrating high-resolution aerial imagery (30 cm) and digital elevation models (DEMs) across 193 km2. Sixteen manually digitized areas (37.8 ha) produced 256 training patches (512 × 512 px). The early fusion model that combined spectral and topographic data achieved the best performance (IoU = 0.754; accuracy = 85.9%). Monte Carlo evaluation confirmed its robustness. Spatial analysis showed that 89.8% of detected terraces lie below 300 m elevation, mainly on 10°–20° slopes with north-northwest orientation, in agreement with previous archaeological observations. Compared with expert digitization, the model yielded higher precision (87.4% vs. 79.3%), while experts achieved higher recall (94.3% vs. 76.6%). Applied to the full peninsula, the model mapped 2,517 ha of terraces. Validation using an existing archaeological dataset (Demirciler 2014) enabled direct comparison between automated and expert-based interpretations. The results indicate the potential of deep learning for terrace detection in Mediterranean landscapes and outline a methodological framework for documenting threatened cultural heritage.

This article applies mathematical knot theory to the study of Andean khipus—knotted cord records, widely known for their use by the Inka empire (ca. AD 1400–1532). Despite more than 100 years of extensive study, a comprehensive understanding of the relationships and properties of different khipu knots has yet to be established. Addressing this gap, this article formalizes khipu knot relationships through the lens of mathematical knot theory, focusing on (1) common khipu knot variations that lead to misidentifications, (2) potential insights into khipu construction and data-encoding processes, and (3) the functional properties that certain knot variations offered to khipukamayuqs (khipu specialists). This article highlights the importance of recognizing topologically equivalent knots, which are visually distinct yet are structurally identical, and explores how variations of the same knot type could be used to encode or modify meaning. Notably, it reveals that several common knot forms can be transformed into visually distinct variations or other common forms without untying them, offering new perspectives on the versatility and complexity of khipus and knotted objects more broadly.

The Fremont archaeological complex of the northern Colorado Plateau represents a mixed subsistence economy based on small-scale farming and foraging. However, the role of maize within the Fremont diet and its temporal span are poorly understood in northwestern Colorado, which is an eastern periphery of the broader Fremont tradition. Previous estimates in the region suggest that Fremont lifeways began early in the first millennium AD and persisted late into the 1600s. In this study, we examine 53 radiocarbon dates of maize macrofossils and short-lived wood/plant fragments from granary features from 33 sheltered and open-air sites in the study area. Based on our Bayesian modeling efforts, small-scale corn farming most likely began around cal AD 740–815 and ended between cal AD 1270 and 1320, with a modeled duration of 515 years. Several peaks are apparent within the summed probability distribution (cal AD 970–1050 and cal AD 1090–1130), suggesting that the most intensive era for maize farming is coeval with social and subsistence trends evident across the broader Uinta Basin. We provide evidence of a restricted maize chronology throughout the study area, but further work is needed to understand the proportional contribution of maize to the Fremont diet.

This article focuses on the placement of ruins in the Mixtec landscape and in painted screen-fold manuscripts or codices during the Late Postclassic period, with an eye toward shedding light on broader Mesoamerican dynamics. I argue that while ruins of previous ages constituted meaningful links to the past in and of themselves, much of their significance, or even “vibrancy,” in the Postclassic inhered from the processes of persons journeying to and from them across the landscape. In the highly mountainous terrain of the Mixtec highlands, this movement frequently involved dramatic vertical ascents and descents, a phenomenon accentuated in the surviving codices from the region. Drawing from archaeological, textual, and iconographic evidence, I argue that this vertical movement to and from ruins of the past was closely intertwined with Mesoamerican understandings of temporality, and that traversing up and down the landscape could effectively constitute a kind of movement through time. Consistent with our grasp of Mesoamerican temporalities more generally, these spatiotemporal movements should not be seen as linear or teleological but instead as largely cyclical and bound up with concerns surrounding cosmic renewal.

Este trabajo tiene un doble objetivo, por un lado, profundizar el estudio de las prácticas alimentarias y la dieta de las poblaciones que habitaron la costa sur de la Laguna Mar Chiquita, mediante el análisis de microrrestos vegetales en contenedores cerámicos y, por otro, conocer las modalidades de producción de dichos objetos, en vínculo con estas prácticas culinarias, desde una perspectiva tecnológica. Para ello, se analizaron 34 fragmentos, procedentes de los sitios El Diquecito e Isla Orihuela Playa Sudeste, correspondientes al Holoceno tardío. Entre los artefactos identificados se encuentran vasijas simples y compuestas, abiertas y cerradas. Los análisis permitieron identificar tanto especies vegetales silvestres (algarrobo, chañar y Arecaceae) como cultivadas (maíz, zapallo o calabaza, porotos, papa y mandioca), evidenciando una notable diversidad en las plantas seleccionadas y el uso de recipientes específicos según las preparaciones. Este abordaje multidisciplinar integra información arqueobotánica y tecnológica sobre los recipientes cerámicos, sus formas, usos y funciones, contribuyendo a comprender los modos de vida y prácticas cotidianas de estas poblaciones cazadoras-recolectoras-horticultoras, destacando su interacción con las plantas en las llanuras cordobesas.

Ostrich (Struthio camelus) eggshell (OES) beads are well documented as a medium of delayed exchange and social networking between hunter-gatherer societies in southern Africa. For thousands of years, OES objects played a role in glossing social difference and establishing networks of reciprocal obligation. However, there is less clarity on the reasons for use of OES as the base material. While some sources consider the birds’ spiritual power to be key, this contribution considers a complimentary perspective from within southern African |Xam idiom: that the normative associations of ostriches and ostrich eggs are significantly referenced through this material choice. In |Xam archival ethnography, ostriches appear as highly socialized resources, drought-resistant and responsive to careful population management, making it possible to call upon the species as a fallback resource in difficult times. Accordingly, just as humans call upon the birds in vulnerable moments, OES encodes notions of trust, care and interdependence into objects made from it.

A la caída de Teotihuacan, la ciudad no queda en total abandono; grupos culturales continuaron viviendo sobre las ruinas, reutilizando espacios y áreas a las que quizás, en algún momento, no les era permitido acceder. Hacia 600-650 dC comienza a prevalecer un nuevo complejo cerámico Coyotlatelco integrado por formas, diseños y estilos, y caracterizado por la decoración rojo sobre café. En el 800-850 dC el complejo cerámico Mazapa se encuentra en el área; sus formas y estilos (la decoración con líneas ondulantes y la olla blanco levantado cuyo origen se remonta a la región del Bajío) la hacen diferente. De 1390 dC a 1520 dC, el Complejo cerámico Azteca II, III tardío, IV y contacto está presente en Teotihuacan. Toda esta intensa actividad que se dio sobre la antigua urbe se ve reflejada en los túneles que se encuentran al este de la Pirámide del Sol. De 1987 a 1996, Linda R. Manzanilla lleva a cabo un proyecto interdisciplinario donde excava extensivamente cuatro túneles, y registra diferentes actividades al interior de ellos. Con el análisis detallado de la cerámica se pudieron identificar, ubicar cronológicamente y conformar los complejos cerámicos Coyotlatelco, Mazapa y Azteca en Teotihuacan.

This paper presents new radiocarbon (14C) measurements from annual tree rings of English oak (Quercus robur L.) from Kujawy, Poland, spanning 1042–1062 CE. The results confirm an increase in Δ14C values between 1053 and 1055 CE, within the Oort Minimum of solar activity, consistent with literature values (Brehm et al. 2021a; Eastoe et al. 2019; Terrasi et al. 2020). The data reveal a sustained increase in Δ14C values between 1053 and 1055 CE, rising from −6.9 ± 1.8‰ to −2.6 ± 1.8‰. For the preceding period (1042–1052 CE), the average Δ14C value is −11.0 ± 1.9%, indicating a significant increase of 8.4 ± 2.6‰ toward 1055 CE. The study estimates the 14C production rate during this period and suggests the radiocarbon increase likely began before 1054 CE, indicating it is unlikely to be significantly attributed to the supernova in 1054 CE. The study contributes to refining the understanding of rapid changes in atmospheric radiocarbon and their potential causes.

At ANSTO, we have developed an automated dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) processing line, known as A-DIC, designed to sequentially process 10 water samples for radiocarbon analysis without any operator intervention. The A-DIC works at ambient pressure using helium (He) gas as a carrier. It includes a water pump capable of drawing adjustable sample volumes between 22-180 mL into a 250 mL reaction vessel. Upon the addition of 5 mL of phosphoric acid to the vessel, the sample is sparged with helium (He) gas at a rate of 45 mL/min for 16 min. The desorbed CO2 from the sample is then carried along with He through a series of traps: water vapor traps at –75 °C, a sulphur (SOx) trap containing silver wires at 650 °C, and two CO2 traps at –196 °C. The A-DIC is automated via a Python script executed on a PC connected via USB. It demonstrates consistent performance and CO2 trapping efficiency across batches of up to 10 samples. For contamination study, the CO2 gas collected is transferred to graphitization units to be converted into graphite for AMS analysis.

In freshwater samples, benzalkonium chloride (BAC) effectively prevents radiocarbon (14C) of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from changing owing to its bactericidal effects. The addition of BAC is a promising alternative method to mercury, which is currently the standard method of sterilization. Therefore, it is important to investigate its basic potential in advance for radiocarbon observations in seawater if mercury is prohibited. Since the BAC efficiency decreases in seawater, our investigation focused on salinity, which is the distinguishing characteristic of seawater. The disinfectant effects of BAC in the low- and high-salinity (4.4 and 26.5) seawater samples at a constant BAC concentration and the varying BAC concentrations at a constant salinity (20.8) were examined. With BAC treatment, the higher-salinity samples exhibited larger changes in DIC 14C concentration and δ13C value, indicators of microbial activity, than the lower-salinity samples. At higher BAC concentrations (0.1% or 1%), DIC isotope values changed negligibly over time, whereas at the lower concentration (0.01%) they changed significantly over time. These findings suggest that salt diminishes the efficiency of BAC, potentially by degrading it, thereby reducing its bactericidal activity and allowing microorganism populations to recover, thus altering 14C concentration. Further, they indicate that increasing the BAC dosage may overcome its diminished efficacy in seawater samples.

This paper examines the dynamics of religious transformation in North Africa during the second and third centuries AD, challenging traditional narratives rooted in culture-historical models and simplistic cultural labels, such as the purported ‘Africanisation’ of cults under the Severan dynasty. While past scholarship has often framed these changes in terms of cultural permanence, resistance, or renaissance, this study shows that they are instead deeply embedded within the broader social and economic practices of the Roman Empire and, at the same time, reflect local and micro-regional dynamics. The paper adopts a multifold approach to reinterpretation: the onomastic attributes of gods and devotees; the iconography and materiality of divine representations; the architectural forms of temples and their functions. By reanalysing key material corpora, this contribution highlights how cultic patterns were shaped by factors such as economic networks, the proliferation of stone-made monuments, and the involvement of an expanding ‘middle-class’ base of worshippers. A specific focus is placed on the cult of Saturn, often viewed as emblematic of African religious identity or continuity. This study argues instead that the second–third century boom in Saturn worship reflects broader imperial trends, including the rise in monumentalisation and shifting patterns of religious patronage. By dismantling previous assumptions and employing relational and materiality-focused methodologies, the paper offers a revised framework for understanding the interplay between local traditions and imperial dynamics in shaping religious practices in Roman Africa.

Burial mounds, or kurgans, are a widespread archaeological feature in ancient Eurasia. In the South Caucasus, the Kura-Araxes (KA) culture adopted these funerary structures to express horizontal social ideology through collective inhumations. KA communities also constantly re-engaged with the dead through the regular reopening of burials, contributing to a rich organic archive that relates to episodes of funerary manipulation. This article reports on the results of a radiocarbon wiggle-match obtained from a semi-burnt branch of Juniperus sp. associated with Kurgan 8 at Uzun Rama (Ganja, Azerbaijan). This structure yielded evidence of burial activity during the KA I phase (ca. 3500–3000/2900 BCE) and the post-KA, the “Early Kurgan” period (ca. 2500–2000 BCE), and the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1500–1150 BCE). The sample came from a wooden structure constructed and then burnt in the ritual closure of the kurgan by fire, marking the final stage of its KA use. The results of the wiggle-match allowed us to produce a close estimate for the felling of the branch, thus providing a refined Terminus Post Quem (TPQ) for the construction of the wooden structure itself and its use within 3204–3174 BCE. These results shed light on finer temporal resolution of burial history not just pertaining to funerary sequences, but also in terms of social engagement with visible landmarks and long-term cultural or generational memory. The results correlate with broader trends observed in other KA kurgans and settlements excavated along the Kura basin, pointing at large-scale landscape (or even historical) reconfigurations across the Kura-Araxes world.