Using calibrated radiocarbon dates, this study investigates climate signals recorded in fluvial sedimentary archives from southern Poland, eastern Netherlands, and eastern Germany. Summed probability density functions (PDFs) were constructed and analyzed in the context of INTIMATE stratigraphy. The results indicate that fluvial sedimentation and erosion processes were closely linked to climate fluctuations, particularly during GS/GI and GI/GS transitions. The analyses indicate multi-scale relationships between regional geomorphological processes and global climate trends during the period from 50 to 15 cal kBP. This study provides a reconstruction of Late Pleistocene fluvial activity and highlights the need for more precise radiocarbon dates to refine correlations between regional and global climate events.

The Acholla Archaeological Project is an international collaboration at the site of Acholla (Tunisia) between the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), Dickinson College and the University of Oklahoma, with additional support from the University of Leicester and the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project. The first season of the project took place in June 2025, focusing on three main tasks: fieldwalking, topographic survey and architectural documentation. Over a period of two and a half weeks, an area of over 25 ha was covered by a fieldwalking team and nearly 40,000 finds were collected for study and analysis. Topographic and architectural surveys were also undertaken to begin the process of creating an updated plan of the site. The work accomplished this season has already yielded new information about Acholla and has provided a strong foundation for future fieldwork campaigns and further research at this important coastal site.

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.

This paper anatomises and illustrates drawings and prints in the British Museum extracted from an early seventeenth-century album. The drawings, which were inserted by the museum into a new album, suggest that the original album originated in the workshop of a London goldsmith with German or central European origins who worked for the royal court and had a connection to Thomas Cecil, Earl of Exeter. Particular attention is paid to forty-four ornament prints, mainly German, long separated from the drawings. Nearly all are signal additions to the canon of engraved ornament documented in London at this early date. The ensemble thus reassembled is a rare window into design sources, style and processes early in the Stuart period.

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.