Chronic otitis and mastoiditis are inflammatory processes that can lead to deafness and disability if left untreated, especially in the pre-antibiotic era and in fishing communities with high exposure to infection. This study describes lesions on temporal bones found in Tzintzuntzan, a prehispanic city located near Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, in western Mexico. A multidisciplinary team analyzed a sample (N = 96) of temporal bones using morphoscopic analysis, multidetector CT scanning, and 2D and 3D virtual reconstruction. All evaluations were double-blinded using a previously standardized process and a validated questionnaire. The combination of multiple methodologies and a multidisciplinary team of evaluators improved the likelihood of classifying lesions. Nearly one-third of the lesions (31.25%) are compatible with the diagnoses of chronic otitis and mastoiditis. The frequency of these lesions is high in fishing communities such as in the city of Tzintzuntzan, possibly leading to significant hearing impairment among the population and affecting individuals’ abilities to perform essential aquatic activities.

This contribution presents a tight body of evidence – hoards of medieval coins found during archaeological investigations in churches in a confined area of southern Albania in close proximity to Phoinike – whose formations and abandonments date to within a decade or so of one another in the central years of the fourteenth century. A detailed numismatic analysis of the represented coin issues, principally deniers tournois of Arta and soldini of Venice, and of the hoards themselves, allows the authors to draw monetary and historical conclusions. One of the hoards defines in a decisive manner the pattern of coin production at Arta for about a decade after 1323. The presented evidence highlights the administration and the commerce of the territory, and its geo-strategic fate in the face of serious pressures which came to bear on it from all sides during the 1330s and 1340s. The main protagonists in this story are the lords and despots in Epiros of the house of Kephallenia, Zakynthos, Leukas, and Ithaka; the Angevins of southern Italy who had important holdings in the area, especially the island of Kerkyra; and the Byzantine and Serbian empires which took control respectively in the fourth and fifth decades of the fourteenth century.

Monkeys kept as exotic pets by wealthy Romans have hitherto been determined as African species exclusively, specifically Barbary macaques, in the few documented cases of monkey skeletons. This has now been revised following the discovery of three dozen burials of Indian macaques from the first two centuries CE at the animal cemetery of the Red Sea port of Berenike. The special status of these primates among other buried companion animals, mainly cats and some dogs, is suggested by grave goods including restraining collars, apparent status markers like iridescent shells and food delicacies, and kittens and a piglet as the monkey’s own pets. The Berenike material is the most comprehensive source to date for the socio-cultural context of keeping exotic pets. It suggests a resident Roman elite, possibly associated with Roman legionary officers posted at the harbor. The monkey burials from Berenike also provide the first zooarchaeological evidence of trade in live animals from India.

En este trabajo estudio el arte rupestre creado por los zapotecos a su llegada a la parte sur del Istmo de Tehuantepec en el Postclásico tardío. Analizo varios aspectos de este arte desde una aproximación a la ontología zapoteca prehispánica para exponer la singularidad de este tipo de arte dentro de la cultura zapoteca, y para demostrar que constituía una acción y una experiencia diferente de lo que se considera arte en la tradición clásica de occidente, ya que se pintaba sobre un ente vivo. Propongo dos aspectos importantes de la estética de este arte: la vinculación íntima con la tierra como ente vivo y con los seres que habitan en su interior; y el poder de poner en acción esas imágenes que desataba su proceso de creación.

This study offers a review of the artistic dimension of the Chinchorro culture, a complex hunter-gatherer society along the coast of the Atacama Desert that, around 7000 years ago, created elaborate representations of the dead. It provides archaeological background and investigates the possible reasons for the development of artificial mummification. Drawing on the art therapy model and the concepts of art and grief, the analysis interprets Chinchorro mortuary rituals as expressions of emotional and social processes. This study argues that these anthropogenically prepared mummies represent artistic expressions that reflect the intentional decision-making and emotional awareness of these ancient communities, serving as a means to process grief. Furthermore, the paper highlights the multifaceted nature of Chinchorro society, including the mining and use of pigments such as manganese—materials that, while symbolically meaningful, posed serious health risks and may have contributed to the eventual decline of their elaborate funerary practices. Finally, the study underscores the enduring cultural significance of the Chinchorro, particularly in shaping contemporary identity of Arica region, where artistic portrayal of dead links ancient and modern narratives of cultural heritage.

The recent increased attention on repatriation efforts and compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has placed many institutions in the same position—needing internal policies concerning research, exhibition, duty of care, and the eventual repatriation and return of cultural items held within their respective institutions. We argue that these policies should be created and carried out in a truly consultative, transparent, and respectful manner that includes Tribal perspectives and knowledge. Repatriation policies are not one size fits all but rather should reflect the holdings of specific institutions, as well as input from Tribal Nations whose Ancestors and cultural heritage they steward. This article brings together repatriation practitioners from five different institutions who share their experiences in creating collaborative repatriation policies and extending them to non-NAGPRA collections. These practitioners highlight some important considerations for those developing policies on exhibition and research, the care of Ancestors, their cultural items, and associated materials, and eventual repatriation. Our goal is to provide useful examples for those who are currently developing policies centered on repatriation, together with care practices, curation, and collections management.

Now more than a year into the revised NAGPRA regulations, practitioners are carefully considering how best to respond to the amendments, especially newly added components such as duty of care (§10.1[d]). Because associated records are not a defined category under the Act, however, practitioners have no guidance on how best to move beyond the return of Ancestors and cultural items to the long-term preservation and curation of the records that may remain once repatriation is complete. Since associated records play such a significant role in NAGPRA compliance, and since digitizing archaeological records has become commonplace in repositories across the country, we propose that curatorial facilities adopt a policy prior to digitizing records that contain information pertinent to NAGPRA. Considerations about Indigenous data sovereignty, privacy concerns, and sensitivity of certain themes or types of data should be factored into the decision-making process. This article provides a review of the relevant context and a step-by-step guide to creating a policy for your institution.

Since 2018 the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) has actively engaged in Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) compliance work. During this time, the agency developed new perspectives and policies on NAGPRA and Indigenous collections care through consultation with Tribal partners and participation in the NAGPRA Community of Practice. Based on experiences at the ADAH, the authors identify challenges in implementing culturally sensitive collections care and suggest pathways forward. Topics of discussion include building institutional commitment and capacity, identifying and implementing culturally sensitive practices, stewarding sensitive information, and navigating a variety of stakeholder positions on NAGPRA and repatriation. We conclude that prioritizing the integration of Indigenous perspectives into collections care can positively affect the culture of our workplaces and disciplines at large.

Since the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990, university museums and academic units have struggled to accomplish the volume of collections work necessary for compliance with available personnel. Simultaneously, students pursuing collections management careers rarely receive adequate compliance training in classroom settings. Involving students in collections documentation is a possible solution for helping practitioners manage archaeological collections and addressing the NAGPRA education gap; however, there are ethical concerns with including students in NAGPRA teams. In this article, we discuss challenges associated with employing students, the need to consult with Tribal Nations about involving students in NAGPRA projects, and safe ways to incorporate student workers into collections management workflows that support repatriation. Ultimately, we argue that employees with student status can be valuable members of a NAGPRA team when their roles are defined through consultation with Tribal Nation partners. Institutions with archaeological collections provide a unique opportunity to train students in proper procedures for documenting NAGPRA collections, cultural sensitivity, and the decolonization of collections management practices. Involving students in NAGPRA initiatives is an important way to teach the next generation to be respectful, well-rounded, and collaborative archaeologists.

The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990 ushered in a new era in museum and Tribal practices. Faced with new and unprecedented legislative mandates, early NAGPRA practitioners were challenged to put a set of principles and statutory language into practice. Museum and Tribal representatives faced numerous challenges and unexpected barriers to implement the law. In this retrospective, we discuss the reality of implementing NAGPRA between its passage and the inventory deadline in 1995, focusing on four areas: the law, professional archaeological and museological codes of ethics, the state of collections, and capacity to do the work. The substantial accomplishments of the first five years created a foundation for work that continues today. Parallels to contemporary NAGPRA implementation, especially under the 2024 regulations, include tight deadlines, requirements that were not previously contemplated by practitioners, and the changing understanding of what it means to comply with the law. Practitioners will get a better understanding and awareness of their NAGPRA obligations, practices that are respectful of Tribal practitioners’ time demands and priorities, appreciation for the technological capacities available today, the need to support for consultation partners, and the importance of taking time to build empathetic relationships.

Digital technologies, including 3D digitization and replication, are increasingly integrated into repatriation-related work by museums and Indigenous communities. Repatriation laws began being adopted in the United States at state level in 1976, followed by federal repatriation laws in 1989 with the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Act, which applies only to the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1990 with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Early repatriation, therefore, was in the predigital age, but the use of computers and databases, including digital imaging, email, and file-sharing, has had a significant impact, first with 2D digital technologies and more recently with the incorporation of 3D digitization. These, and the creation of surrogates of archival and object collections, have led to an explosion of information-sharing between museums and Indigenous partners. 2D digitization and 3D digitization and replication, in consultation and collaboration with Indigenous communities, are emerging as important tools alongside repatriation efforts—not in lieu of repatriation but as supplements to mutual interests that go beyond it. Here, the experiences of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and others are offered as examples of such new applications of 3D in the context of repatriation and beyond.

Three decades after the initial five-year deadline for compliance, federal agencies and museums have once more been called to account for their failure to return Ancestors and cultural items to Tribal Nations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). In April 2024 more than 70 practitioners collaborated in forums and paper and poster sessions to produce the first ever “Day of NAGPRA” at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in New Orleans. The overwhelming success of this effort is as clear a barometer as any for the current need in the discipline for more conversation, better resources, increased opportunities, and—above all—the chance at a truly collaborative push for a complete return of all Ancestors and their belongings to their communities. In this article, we set up our thematic issue by introducing readers to the various contributions concerning duty of care, education, and policy implementation inspired and informed by the “Day of NAGPRA.”

This article presents the results of excavations in Early Bronze Age levels at the site of Hamoukar in northeastern Syria. During the 2008 and 2010 field seasons, excavations in the lower town at Hamoukar uncovered evidence for three distinct architectural phases dating to the second half of the third millennium B.C. Prior to these excavations, attention had been focused on the final phase of Early Bronze Age occupation in the lower town, when the settlement was violently destroyed and then abandoned. It is now possible, however, to provide a backstory for the settlement’s violent end and also a more complicated––if still preliminary––account of exactly how the urbanisation process played out at the site. This article presents a summary of the Early Bronze Age stratigraphic sequence in the lower town at Hamoukar and, at the same time, a description of new evidence for the evolution of social, economic, and ritual practice across three phases of urban development. A brief comparison with urban trajectories at two other contemporary sites highlights the heterogeneity of cities and urban dynamics in Early Bronze Age northern Mesopotamia.

In this paper, I use examples from the Roman past and the Brexit present of the UK to discuss the links between practices, identities and the changing dimensions of imperial power. In both the traditional archaeological context of later Roman Britain and in excavating the roots of Brexit in post-War British politics, analysis of the practical semiotics of identity is the most fruitful way to understand the social processes under way. In each context, the meaning of different practices, articulated through the concepts of identities and boundaries, is crucial to the structuration of, respectively, a late imperial and a post-imperial society. The tensions between imperial and local identities are manifest across a wide suite of practices, the investigation of which provides a dynamic method for understanding how these tensions play out, with consequences for the fragmentation of the Roman Empire, on the one hand, and of the UK, on the other.