A geophysical survey at Cahal Pech, Belize, identified one of the earliest securely dated lithic caches from the Maya lowlands. Linked to Middle Preclassic (800–400 cal BC) monumental architecture and communal ceremonial events, this find demonstrates the effectiveness of gradiometry for detecting ritual deposits.

Spanning 760km2 and identifying 603 sites covering thousands of years of (pre)history, the Mariwan Archaeological Survey provides a comprehensive examination of settlement history in north-western Iran. By employing advanced survey methods and targeting previously unexplored regions, evidence and understanding of Mariwan’s cultural dynamics and historical interactions is substantially enhanced.

The deep evolutionary relationship between humans and intestinal parasites offers opportunities for the reconstruction of diet and living conditions in archaeological populations. Here, the authors identify eggs preserved in sediment adhering to the surface of the sacrum in Muslim burials from the Southern Necropolis at Deraheib (upper reaches of Wadi al-Allaqi, Sudan, ninth–eleventh centuries AD). Species-level identification is suggested based on egg morphology and religious taboos, revealing a high prevalence of infection by Taenia saginata, the beef tapeworm, and contributing to our understanding of diet, subsistence, climate and health in the medieval Nubian Desert.

This article examines a monumental structure in the North Pontic Steppe that was repurposed as a burial mound in the late fourth millennium BCE. The authors argue that this repurposing reflects a pattern of Yamna appropriation of ritual spaces, conceptualised as a ‘continuity of sacred spaces’.

Assessing the physical integrity of archaeological sites is vital for heritage conservation management. Using the example of Arslantepe, a prehistoric tell site in south-eastern Türkiye, this article demonstrates the application of RUSLE modelling to estimate surface erosion vulnerability, employing ultra-high-resolution photogrammetry and a field-based geoarchaeological framework. The results reveal contained erosion across the site with localised degradation limited to steep trench walls and spoil heaps, indicating remarkably good site conservation and consolidating the effectiveness of RUSLE modelling as a scalable method for evaluating surface processes and informing conservation strategies on individual archaeological sites.

Excavations at Kalat-e Yavar offer new insights into prehistoric connectivity between the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia. Stratified deposits yielded ceramics and burials from the third/second millennia BCE, alongside architectural remains, pits, faunal/botanical assemblages and a kiln, marking the Bojnord Plain as a cultural contact zone.

The WEAR project is developing integrative methods to analyse and predict use-related shape transformation of Neolithic stone tools from Central Europe through experimental archaeology and computational modelling.

Newly discovered open-air sites along the Dorps River in the arid Karoo (South Africa), a region with uneven archaeological coverage, demonstrate multiple visits to this favoured habitat in the late Holocene Later Stone Age (c. 3000–2000 BP).

This study investigates Escuadrón 41, a former colonial battery turned detention and torture centre, to examine the material and mnemonic afterlives of state violence in Cuba. Through excavation, archival research and oral histories, it reveals how ruins, memory and erasure intersect, positioning archaeology as critical engagement with difficult pasts.

Ostrów Lednicki was a centre of the Piast dynasty (tenth–fourteenth centuries AD), laying the foundations for the development of the Polish state. A collapsed tenth-century wooden fortification associated with Bolesław the Brave (the first king of Poland) and its unique sculptural element provide insights into early-medieval construction techniques.

This project investigates archaeological material collected from north-west China in the 1920s and housed at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Finds and archival materials are examined and catalogued to learn about prehistoric cultural interactions and to reconnect discoveries with the original excavation contexts and excavators.

Adapting to a global urban future requires diverse, long-term perspectives on urbanism. URBank supports this by bringing together global deep-time urban datasets in a modern open-science computing platform. Its design eschews checklist definitions of cities, representing the variability of past urbanism and enabling systematic comparative spatiotemporal research.