Changes in settlement patterns are often argued to reflect climatic change, which may make certain areas more or less hospitable depending on the adaptability of subsistence practices. This study models the impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on phases of occupation and abandonment over the past 4500 years at Pashimbi in the Ecuadorian Amazon. While earlier occupations and abandonments seem to correlate with climatic events, associations post-3000 BP are less clear, potentially indicating that populations adapted to wetter conditions and, the authors argue, that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation was not the main determinant in the decision to abandon settlements.

Recent excavations at Gre Fılla, located in the northern part of the Upper Tigris region in modern-day Türkiye, have revealed an architecturally diverse settlement that was occupied during much of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (c. 9300–7500 BC). While early architecture at the site aligns with developments seen more widely in northern Mesopotamia, the typological diversity that fluoresces during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (c. 8800–7500 BC) has previously been under-represented in the region. Here, the author examines the evolution of the architecture uncovered at Gre Fılla, arguing that the increasing architectural complexity reflects the developing social complexity of Neolithic communities.

The Kura-Araxes culture spread over a large area of South-west Asia, participating in the transformational dynamics of Early Bronze Age societies in the region. Yet, the absence of a robust chronological framework for this cultural horizon hinders its integration into wider regional and interregional models. Drawing on a substantial new radiocarbon dataset, collating novel Bayesian chronological models for eight sites and existing data from the wider region, this article identifies settlement patterns that coincide with broader reconfigurations of the Kura-Araxes cultural landscape, which in turn track socioeconomic, and possibly political, shifts observed in eastern Anatolia and the greater Near East.

This study of red ochre in mortuary contexts in Neolithic to Iron Age sites in Thailand reveals regional and temporal variation. Used extensively at Neolithic Khok Phanom Di, often as body paint, the material was absent at contemporaneous inland sites. Its reappearance in the Bronze Age signalled a symbolic shift in practice, with pieces of ochre incorporated into elaborate funerary rituals. These patterns suggest differing cultural origins and evolving rituals. By the Iron Age, ochre use declined, coinciding with the spread of new mortuary ideologies. The authors highlight how ochre is a powerful marker of identity, belief and cultural change.

Paddy fields are central to the origin and spread of rice agriculture and their development ultimately underpinned the formation of complex societies in Asia. Here, the authors report on the stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating and archaeobotanical record from Shiao, including one of the earliest and largest paddy fields yet identified (c. 6700 cal BP). As at nearby sites, paddy fields were successively overlaid with peat and marine sediments as sea level vacillated. With each iteration, the fields evolved from strip-like to ‘hash’-shaped configurations, representing growing labour input and, crucially, a corresponding increase in sustainable population size.

Archaeologists often designate certain anthropogenic structures as ‘monumental’, creating an architectural dichotomy that has an ascribed implicit value. This article challenges the usefulness of such differentiation, which, the author argues, does not describe objective characteristics of buildings but rather reflects a social construct rooted in the origins of the modern discipline of architecture. By exploring the assumptions inherent in current three-dimensional views and evolutionary models of architectural development, and employing ancient Egyptian architecture as a pertinent case study, this article aims to open our eyes to fundamental aspects of past architectural practices that are veiled by these frameworks.

When grounded within relevant archaeological contexts, ancient DNA analysis can provide critical insights into prehistoric human populations. This is demonstrated in this article, where the authors examine the genetic relatedness of individuals whose remains were placed in five Neolithic tombs in Caithness and Orkney, northern Scotland. The results reveal a web of biological ties that, the authors argue, suggests sustained contact between these communities beyond the onset of the Neolithic and shared understandings of kinship, including descent and a sense of affinity, but emerging local differences in how kinship was materialised through monumental architecture.

Between 2011 and 2017, excavations by a joint German-Georgian team at the Tabakoni settlement mound in the Colchis lowlands of western Georgia uncovered complex wooden constructions preserved in the waterlogged soils. Combined radiocarbon and dendrochronological dating, the first undertaking of its kind in Colchis, reveals that construction on a stable foundation for the site began in the twentieth century BC and identifies early evidence for the cultivation of millet. Subsequent occupation phases saw the careful levelling of previous structures and the addition of backfill, gradually building up the mound until it was ultimately abandoned in the second half of the first millennium BC.

The deep history of weaving is attested by spindle whorls and loom weights, so the evolution of techniques may be tracked through changes in these durable artefacts; however, wooden looms rarely preserve. Here, the authors document a series of loom weights and associated charred timbers and fibres that represent the remains of a Bronze Age warp-weighted loom, uncovered at the settlement of Cabezo Redondo in south-eastern Spain. Based on the number, weight and size of the weights, hypothetical reconstructions of loom setup and resultant textile products are proposed, revealing possible diversification of weaving processes in the mid-second millennium BC.

The Roman occupation of England (AD 43–410), characterised by urbanisation and militarisation, is generally understood to have had a negative impact on population health. Yet our understanding of associated socioeconomic changes is hindered by the comparatively limited analysis of inhumations from the preceding Iron Age. Deploying the DOHaD hypothesis, this study examines negative health markers in the skeletons of 274 adult females of childbearing age and 372 non-adults aged below 3.5 years from Iron Age and Roman contexts, revealing the long-lasting negative influence of urbanisation but with a more limited impact in rural communities implying continuation of cultural norms.

Interpretation of social identity for individuals buried in peripheral locations in Warring States Qin mausoleums (after c. 325 BC) is largely based on considerations of associated artefacts and distance from the central tomb; bioarchaeological evidence is limited. This article interrogates osteological indicators of lifelong health and activity patterns in individuals buried between the boundary ditches of the Shangzhaoyao Qin mausoleum, near Xi’an, China, providing a bioarchaeological reconstruction of their social identities. Female bias, poor health and participation in high-intensity daily activities together suggest identities associated with menial, miscellaneous labour and reflect the rigid hierarchical system of the Qin state.

The ability of urban centres to grow and persist through crises is often assessed qualitatively in archaeology but quantitative assessment is more elusive. Here, the authors explore urban resilience in ancient Mesopotamia by applying an adaptive cycle framework to the settlement dynamics of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley (c. 3000–600 BC). Using an integrated dataset of settlements and hollow ways, they identify patterns of growth, conservation, release and reorganisation across six periods, demonstrating the value of coupling archaeological data with resilience theory and network analysis to understand the adaptive capacities of complex archaeological societies.

An archaeological survey of Kitsissut, a remote island cluster in the High Arctic of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), has revealed a human presence almost 4500 years ago, during the formation of a vital marine environment—Pikialasorsuaq polynya. Kitsissut is accessible only by a difficult open-water journey, and repeated occupation thus permits inferences on the sophistication of watercraft technology and navigational skill. Here, the authors argue that this demonstrable reach of Early Paleo-Inuit communities across marine and terrestrial ecosystems enhances our understanding of their lifeways and environmental legacy, raising critical new questions about Indigenous agency in shaping emerging Arctic ecosystems.

Regular finds of glassware at Roman sites provide a useful dataset not just for constructing glass typologies but for the comparative analysis of base-glass compositions. Here, the authors explore the form and chemical composition of 79 glass fragments from Khirbet al-Khalde, a strategically important site in southern Jordan that was integrated into a major Roman roadway, the Via Nova Traiana, in the early second century AD. Their findings challenge current models, identifying abundant pre-fourth-century Egyptian glassware in an area believed to be predominantly supplied by Syro-Palestine and providing evidence for continued activity at the site into the eighth century.

Two exceptional metalwork deposits, discovered at Melsonby, North Yorkshire, together constitute one of the largest Iron Age hoards recovered in Britain. Dominated by ornate horse harness and vehicle parts, these first-century AD assemblages provide possibly the first evidence for four-wheeled wagons from Iron Age Britain. Associated geographically and temporally with another hoard found in 1843 and with the Late Iron Age ‘royal site’ at Stanwick, these deposits have the potential to broaden our understanding not only of the varied forms of wheeled transport but also of expressions of wealth, status and elite mortuary practices in Iron Age Britain.

Incense burners are frequently excavated at Roman period sites, attesting to acts of combustion within domestic ritual practices, but what was burnt is still uncertain. Here, the authors use microscopy and spectrometry to analyse burnt residues contained within two censers from domestic contexts in Pompeii and a nearby villa. Their results indicate that woody plants were burnt in both censers, either as fuel or offerings, alongside stone fruit or laurel plants and possibly wine or grapes, while traces of Burseraceae resins, originating from Asia or sub-Saharan Africa, provide the first archaeological evidence of incense offerings in the Pompeian domestic cult.

The history of games is obscured by our inability to recognise indicators of play in the archaeological record. Lines incised on a piece of rounded limestone found at the Roman site of Coriovallum in Heerlen, The Netherlands, evoke a board game yet do not reflect the grid of any game known today. Here, the results of use-wear analysis are used to inform artificial intelligence-driven simulations based on permutations of rules from historic Northern European games. Disproportionate wear along specific lines favours the rules of blocking games, potentially extending the time depth and regional use of this game type.