L'insediamento antico di Nuceriola lungo la via Appia (Benevento, Italia) rappresenta un interessante contesto per lo studio delle forme insediative nel territorio del Sannio. Con un arco di vita che va dal IV sec. a.C. al VI sec. d.C., privo di superfetazioni postantiche, esso è diventato un punto di osservazione privilegiato per il progetto Ancient Appia Landscapes (Università di Salerno), in particolare in rapporto ai temi dell'espansionismo romano di età mediorepubblicana, alle forme insediative del mondo rurale, alla viabilità antica. Nel presente contributo sono presentati i risultati dell'analisi fotointerpretativa effettuata su supporti aerofotografici disponibili o creati ex novo: tali dati, coadiuvati dalle informazioni delle attività di scavo, delle prospezioni geofisiche e delle ricognizioni di superficie, delineano un quadro organico della forma dell'insediamento e consentono di proporre un “disegno” suggestivo in grado di arricchire l'ancora poco ampio panorama di conoscenze riferibili allo studio degli abitati minori di questa parte del Sannio.

Thus far, most researchers have focused on the cognition of fire use, but few have explored the cognition of firemaking. With this contribution we analyse aspects of the two main hunter-gatherer firemaking techniques—the strike-a-light and the manual fire-drill—in terms of causal, social and prospective reasoning. Based on geographic distribution, archaeological and ethnographic information, as well as our cognitive interpretation of strike-a-light firemaking, we suggest that this technique may well have been invented by Neanderthal populations in Eurasia. Fire-drills, on the other hand, represent a rudimentary form of a symbiotic technology, which requires more elaborate prospective and causal reasoning skills. This firemaking technology may have been invented by different Homo sapiens groups roaming the African savanna before populating the rest of the globe, where fire-drills remain the most-used hunter-gatherer firemaking technique.

New research at the site of Philoxenite in northern Egypt has identified six large building complexes, each based on a modular design. Each building is composed of replicated segments and dates to the 6th c. CE. This approach to design, used at Philoxenite, is not seen elsewhere on such a scale at this date. Nevertheless, modular design was deeply rooted in the construction traditions of the Roman and Early Byzantine periods, when it was used primarily for shops, warehouses, and cisterns. In Philoxenite, it was used to erect a town district that catered to the needs of pilgrims heading from Alexandria to Abū Mīnā, the largest Christian sanctuary at the time.

This article proposes an interpretive framework of paradox and wonder as a new approach to understanding the affective properties and social consequences of miniature objects in the archaeological record. Building upon current scholarly theories of miniatures as inherently intimate, this approach accounts for how small-scale artworks were also designed and deliberately manufactured to elude user attempts at full sensory access and immersive escapism. This desire-provoking tension between intimacy and distance—which lures viewers into small-scale encounters only to insist upon the object's life-size existence—is wonder, and it is what gives miniature objects their social relevance and ability not only to reflect, but also to influence, the real world. The benefits and applicability of this approach to miniaturization are illustrated through analysis of case studies of miniature objects (figurines, coins, seals and seal impressions, and jewellery) from Hellenistic Babylonia (Seleucid and Parthian periods in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq, 323 bce–ce 224).

Social exclusion has been faced in modern societies as a phenomenon to be prevented in terms of equality. However, it can also be explored in past societies, where some individuals could confront situations of marginalization and exclusion. Previous scholars have accepted or rejected the existence of social exclusion in Ancient Egypt, although none of them has employed a theoretical framework to study it. This paper shows social exclusion as a phenomenon present in Ancient Egypt, analyses the available Egyptian evidence from a theoretical basis inherent to the social sciences, especially Sociology, and applies it to two case studies.

Se presentan los resultados del análisis tecnológico, morfológico y estilístico de una muestra cerámica hallada en estratigrafía en una estructura del sitio Corral Grande 1, asignada al período Formativo regional (2400-1100 años aP), en Antofagasta de la Sierra (provincia de Catamarca, Argentina), Andes meridionales. El objetivo del estudio fue caracterizar distintos aspectos de la cerámica para explorar las potenciales diferencias funcionales de las vasijas en el marco de las actividades agropastoriles desarrolladas en el sitio, los patrones de movilidad y el uso del espacio en la región. Los análisis permitieron identificar una alta variabilidad de estilos tecnológicos en el total del conjunto, e inferir que las vasijas pudieron elaborarse para funciones de almacenaje de productos agrícolas, de cocción y servicio de alimentos. Los tiestos más pequeños y livianos pudieron transportarse en el marco de actividades de pastoreo y caza de camélidos. Las comparaciones a nivel regional evidenciaron similitudes tecnológicas y estilísticas con la cerámica de otros asentamientos, y características decorativas que indican la integración del sitio a escala regional e interregional.

During the last two decades the radiocarbon (14C) dating of hydroxyapatite archaeological cremated bones has become standard practice. Various pretreatment procedures exist among different laboratories of which some include fixation of SO2 using “Sulfix” prior to CO2 reduction. Recently it was reported that the use of Sulfix may cause the resulting 14C age to be too old. Here we report on the use Sulfix at the Aarhus AMS Centre. Further, we report on an experiment designed to test alternatives for the use of Sulfix as a purification agent.