I am interested in the daily activities of the non-Blites to understand ancient Mesopotamian society.Analysing the activities performed within thehouses of the non-6lites is the first step in definingthe social and economic differentiation amonghouseholds and, in turn, a better understanding ofthe role of these households within ancient communities.1 analyse activity areas using a relativelynew method - micro-debris analysis - which analysessmall artefactual and ecofactual remains(Fladmark 1982; Rosen 1989; Matthews 1995).In my dissertation, 365 sediment samples (10litres each) were taken from over 20 structures.The rationale for sampling deposits and countingand weighing the small remains found withinthe earthen matrix is based on a model of depositionalforces. Site formation theorists suggestthat macro-debris left by daily activities are usuallydisturbed and often discarded far from theloci of the original activity. Whereas the large findsmay be scavenged, discarded, or curated in periodsof abandonment, smaller debris is often sweptinto corners or trampled into the surface of afloor. These small items are more likely thanlarge items to remain where they were droppeddue to the difficulty in removing small debriswith traditional cleaning methods (Schiffer 1983;Dunnell & Stein 1989). My research focused onthe analysis of artefacts under 1 cm in dimensionfound in occupational surfaces and featuresin order to define activity areas at severalEarly Bronze Age (c. 3100-1900 BC) sites insoutheastern Turkey

Within the last decade the emphasis of burnt mound research has been refocused on the prehistoric landscapes in which they are set in an attempt to evade just the perennial enigma of ‘function’. In the East Midlands, gravel quarrying in the major river valleys has provided an opportunity to examine large areas that have hitherto been masked by alluvium and the resulting wealth of archaeological information has included five burnt mound sites.

Hunting methods of bison, whether in the French Palaeolithic or on the plains of North America, have much in common. This paper discusses how the hunters pursued their prey and the tools with which they despatched the bison.

The analysis of flake production at the late Lower Palaeolithic site of Holon (Israel) suggests that the introduction of the Levallois method was an abrupt event related to a shift in the design of tools.

In 1931 Vera Collum excavated the megalithic tomb at Tressé in Brittany, claiming that it had been built during the Roman period and was associated with the cult of the mother goddess. This article traces the course of her excavation and suggests a context for the reuse of Neolithic monuments in that area.

Excavation at the site of Picareiro Cave in Portugal provides an important and rare sample of animal remains. Preliminary study shows that late Pleistocene hunter–gatherers hunted rabbits, deer and a wide variety of fauna, perhaps during seasonal occupation of the cave.

The Mummy Tissue Bank at Manchester Museum provides a new resource for Egyptian research. As Dr Lambert-Zazulak explains, new techniques of analysis and the spate of new questions about ancient diseases place this initiative at the front line.

Research on the Mesolithic in the west of Scotland has been gathering momentum since the 1980s. Here, Steven Mithen analyses dates for near-by islands and proposes possible settlement models for the Mesolithic.

The distribution of projectile points over broad geographic areas yields important insights about Palaeoindian settlement pattern and history. While traditionally viewed as a Great Plains adaptation, the data show that fluted points are far more common in Eastern North America. These artefacts are not evenly spread across the landscape, furthermore, but occur in distinct concentrations. Within some of these areas distinct cultural traditions quickly emerged, something that appears tied to the sudden onset of the Younger Dryas.

Models attributing the origins of the British Neolithic to developing Mesolithic complexity founder on the paucity of evidence for activity during the 5th millennium cal BC. The Scottish transition is examined and its is argued that the onset of the Neolithic was primarily a cognitive and cultural event rather than an economic transformation. It is suggested that knowledge of the existence of complex neolithic societies in northern Europe may have inhibited Late Mesolithic self-confidence, resulting in suppression of identity, thus creating the impression of hiatus that precedes Neolithicization.

Recent revision of the radiocarbon calibration curve for the early Holocene has implications for the ‘absolute’ date of Mesolithic sites such as Star Carr, and for their relationship to the timescale of early Holocene environmental change.

Were drugs in use in prehistory? Recent claims for the use of hallucinogenic substances have been made, and caused a stir. However, new work on a Scottish Neolithic ceremonial site suggests archaeologists (and the media) may have been jumping to the wrong conclusions!

A rare and important AMS sample provides an Aurignacian date for Britain. The artefact and its implications are discussed.

New evidence for the movement of Neolithic basalt adzes across the Taiwan Strait may indicate the beginnings of regular Austronesian voyaging. This seafaring tradition culminated in the Polynesian colonization of the Pacific.

A fieldwalking project focused on the Neolithic/Early Bronze Age of northern Scotland investigates different regional traditions and changing relationships with ancestors.

The careful study of faunal and artefact remains associated with Bandkeramik houses in France has shown new details about activity zones and village organization in the Early Neolithic. Lamys Hachem describes the result of work from Cuiry-lès-Chaudardes in the Aisne valley, France.