Excavations in the summer of 1998 have provided a solution to the problem of dating Northern Ireland's premier archaeological site and opened up new areas for speculation.

Leather, hide and fur were probably the preferred material for all kinds of equipment (tents, bags, pots and drinking vessels) and clothing in prehistory. It is therefore remarkable that our knowledge of this material is so restricted, and its survival even in suitable circumstances very limited. Palynological data and experimental methods attempt to explain this phenomenon.

The origins of Korean archaeological heritage management can be traced to 1916, when Japan's Resident-general Government in Korea (Chōsen Sōtokufu: 1910-1945) promulgated the first comprehensive laws of historical preservation called the ‘Regulations for the Preservation of Korea's Remains and Relics’. They reflected a combination of late Meiji and early Taishō era laws tailored to the Korean peninsula such as Lost and Stolen Antiquities (1909); Temples and Shrines Protection Laws (1911); the Preservation of Stone and Metal Inscriptions (1916); and most significantly, the establishment of an administrative apparatus, the Committee on the Investigation of Korean Antiquities (1916). The Chōsen Sōtokufu Museum laws governing art exhibitions and display were compiled from Imperial Museum laws (Tokyo National Museum 1976) dating from 1890-1907 (Chōsen Sōkufu 1924: 215-30).

Were marine foods still a significant part of the diet in the Early and Middle Neolithic in Britain? This paper presents new evidence, from δ13C measurements of 78 radiocarbon-dated humans from 27 coastal and inland sites in England and Wales, for an apparent abandonment of the use of marine foods in the British Early and Middle Neolithic.

The dating of the complex historical events of Palestine, Syria and Egypt during the Iron Age have long occupied scholarly research. Here, a new scheme of dating is offered, which may help to remove gaps and anomalies in the sequence.

Many authors have remarked that archaeology in East Asia is part of the discipline of history (Chang 1981: 148; Ikawa-Smith 1975: 15; Nelson 1995: 218; Olsen 1987: 282–3; Von Falkenhausen 1993). Furthermore, it is more ‘locally focussed’ (Barnes 1993: 40), with most of the practising archaeologists investigating archaeological remains within their own national boundaries. To paraphrase the famous statement by North American archaeologists, ‘American archaeology is anthropology or it is nothing’ (Willey & Phillips 1957: 2), into ‘East Asian archaeology is national history or it is nothing’ would be an overstatement, but it is not too far from the reality. The major goal of archaeology in East Asia is to enhance understanding of a nation's past, by increasing its temporal depth. In other words, construction of national identity is the prime business of archaeology in East Asia.

Recent excavations at the Neolithic site of Cerro Virtud (Almería, southeast Spain) have produced new information about the development of metallurgy that may change ongoing research not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in the rest of western Europe. The discovery of metallurgy in this region in the first half of the 5th millennium BC poses serious challenges to the interpretation of how this industry developed and spread, given that the nearest European region with similar evidence is the Balkans. This study presents the archaeological context of the discovery and the various analytical techniques (XRF, SEM, 14C) that have been applied to it.

Sander Van Der Leeuw, in his recent plenary address at the 1998 Society for American Archaeology Meetings, suggested that archaeology as a discipline has moved its emphasis from site to settlement pattern, and now to the landscape. Though a landscape focus is not new, especially for the social sciences (Coones 1994; Cosgrove 1984; Glacken 1967; Jackson 1994}, the landscape approach in archaeology (Wagstaff 1987) is still in its infancy.

Spanish colonists imported ancient Arabic irrigation methods into Mexico. Even though historians have made little of the qanat systems, archaeological research in Jalisco has revealed their significance in the colonial economy of Mexico.

The antiquities trade is a rather shady business — and few facts are available. Here Neil Brodie of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre at Cambridge reviews the facts and figures of the British trade in such goods.

Recent study of the prehistoric Lurgan logboat reveals many details of its construction and date. Speculation on how the boat was used and why it was incomplete offer an insight into Irish prehistory.

Bed bugs have been troubling humans for at least 3550 years, as shown by examples from Tell el-Amarna. Here we report on the bug's habits and history, as revealed by archaeology.

In early anthropology, environmental determinism was used to explain race, human demography, material culture, cultural variation and cultural change. As anthropological interpretation evolved, simplistic reductionist thinking was replaced with more complex socio-cultural explanations. Despite these theoretical advances,environmental determinism continues to be invoked to explain Andean prehistory.