Where has archaeology come from and where is it going? In this instalment of NBC, we survey ‘modern-world’ and post-colonial archaeologies, focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We move on to consider the role of cultural heritage and its colonial baggage in the process of nation-building in Jordan and Singapore—and we conclude by taking leave of this planet altogether and heading into outer space.

This list includes all books received between 1 July 2015 and 31 August 2015.

The February issue of Antiquity heralds some significant changes: a new publisher, increased frequency of publication and developments to our website. NBC will continue as a regular feature, aiming to cover more or less the same number of books across six, rather than four, issues. That said, in this current issue, NBC adopts a slightly different form, one devoted not to the usual melange of new titles, but to a single—if massive—publication.

If you are reading this instalment of NBC while eating a sandwich at your keyboard, you may conclude that we have lost touch with the ways in which people produced and consumed food in the past. The books under review here—on palaeoethnobotany and feasting—might encourage you to enjoy tomorrow's lunch in the more convivial atmosphere of the common room or canteen. Meanwhile, desk-diners who read on, be warned that we finish with a volume concerning the inevitable bodily by-products of all this eating and drinking, and some of the unpleasant organisms therein. Caveat cenator!