On the Atlantic coast of northern Norway there is a small group of rock-art sites dated to the early Holocene. Here we address this unique group of sites by exploring their role in the colonization process. The pioneer population encountered a pristine and unknown landscape, still impacted by the melting ice cap. Rather than focus on the motifs, we emphasize the significance of the local topography and the role of relational ontology, where a significant aspect of the process was the impact of the highly active landscape and unusual sceneries. We situate the rock art in a prolonged multi–generational relationship between humans and landscape. We propose a phased model in which distinctive natural features first functioned as navigational landmarks, later became anchored in oral narratives, and eventually acquired cosmological associations, culminating in their physical marking through rock art. Over time this created palimpsests of human–landscape relations with evolving memoryscapes where mobility, myth and materiality intersect. Our approach highlights the dynamic and storied nature of pioneer engagement with animate and agentive landscape in early northern Fennoscandia.

This paper proposes the idea of ‘the transcontextual process’ as a theoretical tool to help interpret materials that have travelled long distances to new contexts. Archaeological literature is often guilty of looking at past movements with a bird’s-eye view and applying assumptions of knowledge, rather than considering the experiences of people who lived in the past. The transcontextual process uses context and assemblage theory to think about what materials and objects of long-distance origin meant to the people using them. A case study of glass tesserae from eighth-century Denmark is used to show how the transcontextual process might be used as a tool for interpretation. It follows the journey of glass tesserae from their use in wall mosaics in the late antique world to the Viking age emporia of Ribe, where they are transformed into glass beads, that are in turn circulated across southern Scandinavia.

The article presents new archaeological data from the Cave of Altamira from two different perspectives: first, it summarizes the results of a comprehensive study of the rock art of a topographic area of the cave; second, it analyses archaeological evidence spatially linked to the studied Palaeolithic imageries. By contrasting the results of the AMS dating of some of this evidence with the results of our study of the superpositions and the formal characteristics of the associated rock art, we have put forth a discussion on the chronology, sequence and nature of the human interactions with the cave art of this area during the Palaeolithic. This has allowed us to define the different times of creation, use and transit for the cave art, thus producing a biography of the Palaeolithic activities in this decorated area of Altamira.

This article discusses the accessibility of sensory experience in archaeological research by proposing an approach that articulates the role imagination plays in the investigation of empirical data from the distant past. Building on interdisciplinary work in sensory studies, this article argues that sensory experiences are both culturally constructed and biologically mediated, emphasizing how the dynamic interplay between perception and materiality reveals the values embedded in ancient sensory-based desires. The author concludes by applying the theoretical and methodological approaches discussed throughout to a case study on ancient Egyptian head cones, demonstrating how archaeology can uncover the complex and consequential nature of ancient sensory experience. Sensory archaeology may advance not only by developing new ways to answer questions, but by reconsidering how we ask them.

This article aims to analyse the formation of the Brześć Kujawski culture (4350–4000 bce) through the lens of ethnogenesis, which refers to the creation of a new ethnic identity. The authors employ the concept of the ethnographic landscape to describe the material and contextual environment in which this process occurred. By conducting a comparative analysis of two central settlements, Osłonki 1 and Brześć Kujawski 4, located 8 km apart, the authors explore the formation of new communities. The proximity of these villages, facilitating everyday interactions, is assumed to provide insights into the similarities and differences characterizing the ethnogenesis process. Similarities arise from bonds that enhance security, while differences persist as expressions of past heritage. This approach aims to deepen the understanding of changes in the Polish Lowlands’ ethnographic landscape and uncover processes of creating new social networks driven by interregional migrations, copper exchange and the assimilation of hunter-gatherer groups.

In this paper, we reconsider the relationship between continuity and change in archaeology by arguing that material continuities do not necessarily imply conservatism or resistance to change but function as precondition for transformation. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of thought as a ‘play of forms’, we conceptualize architecture as an active medium of sense-making, through which societies reframe novelty within familiar epistemic traditions. We examine two case studies: proliferation of compound coresidential enclosures (CCE) in the Central Andes and adoption of the vihara in Angkorian Cambodia. Though often interpreted as ruptures or external impositions, both forms drew upon existing religious and political traditions, making new social projects legible. Over time, these architectures reorganized social relations and became central to emerging formations: Andean ayllus and Khmer Theravada Buddhism. By reframing continuity as a resource for sense-making rather than conservatism, we argue that transformation emerges through creative reworking of tradition, situating thought-in-action at the core of historical change.

This study presents an analysis of funerary practices at the site of Valdelasilla (Illescas, Toledo, Spain). The methodology integrates the morphological study of burial structures, anthropological analyses, a consideration of grave goods and the radiocarbon dating of human bone. The chronological data indicate funerary activity at the site from the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period. Bayesian modelling confirms the establishment of a planned cemetery by the end of the fifth millennium cal. bc, featuring small burial chambers organized around a larger tomb enclosed by a ditch. The burial chambers, which were constructed from wood, clay and small stones, created distinct spaces for the deceased. This embryonic form of monumentalization, the funerary practices observed and the early chronology link Valdelasilla to other peninsular cemeteries associated with the emergence of megalithism, now identified for the first time on the plateau. The location of the necropolis offers new insights into the role of inland regions in the emergence of Iberian and European megalithism.

Ostrich (Struthio camelus) eggshell (OES) beads are well documented as a medium of delayed exchange and social networking between hunter-gatherer societies in southern Africa. For thousands of years, OES objects played a role in glossing social difference and establishing networks of reciprocal obligation. However, there is less clarity on the reasons for use of OES as the base material. While some sources consider the birds’ spiritual power to be key, this contribution considers a complimentary perspective from within southern African |Xam idiom: that the normative associations of ostriches and ostrich eggs are significantly referenced through this material choice. In |Xam archival ethnography, ostriches appear as highly socialized resources, drought-resistant and responsive to careful population management, making it possible to call upon the species as a fallback resource in difficult times. Accordingly, just as humans call upon the birds in vulnerable moments, OES encodes notions of trust, care and interdependence into objects made from it.

This study explores the reception and adaptation of Roman and Roman-inspired materials in South Asia and Southeast Asia during the early historic period. Drawing on a database of over 300 objects, it compares materials such as glass vessels, beads, engraved gems, and coin adaptations. While South Asia shows greater diversity and quantity of Roman imports, Southeast Asia demonstrates selective appropriation and creative transformation, often filtered through South Asia, particularly peninsular India. Southeast Asia favoured high-quality imports and innovative hybrid adaptations blending Mediterranean and Indic elements. In contrast, South Asian adaptations tended either to evoke Roman originals more closely using easily accessible raw materials such as in the case of terracotta bullae, or, when made from more valuable raw materials, often to diverge more substantially from the Roman prototypes. This pattern is further complicated by the emergence of Sri Lanka as a key crossroads in Indian Ocean networks after the fourth century ce. The study highlights regional differences in integrating Roman materials, revealing unique cultural priorities and engagement with global trade networks.

Stylistic variation has been a central concern in the study of prehistoric pottery in central Europe. In this paper, we approach stylistic variation from a visual cognition perspective, focusing on the effects that stylistic attributes of vessels have on patterns of attention. A free-viewing eye-tracking experiment was conducted using pottery vessels from central Germany spanning from 5500 to 1 bce. Our results show that, among modern observers, decorative patterns and motifs primarily guide visual attention over attributes like shape or luminance. Attentional patterns were associated with variation in decorations: vessels with spiralled or punctured motifs (Early–Middle Neolithic) tended to attract more attention, whereas the undecorated (Younger Neolithic), less decorated, burnished or linear motifs (Bronze Age), or standardized and symmetrical patterns (Late Iron Age) of later styles, were less visually engaging. Considering the archaeological context of pottery stylistic changes in central Germany, a provisional explanation is that increased standardization and specialization and the general displacement of interest towards other crafts reduced the importance of pottery for visually communicating important socio-cultural cues, producing fewer captivating designs. This study does not claim equivalence between modern and past populations, but demonstrates the potential of eye-tracking techniques for investigating visual-cognitive responses to stylistic change.

This paper explores the dynamics of power and legitimacy between the late Roman Empire and the societies beyond its northern and eastern frontiers, arguing that shared understandings of political authority, developed through centuries of interaction, facilitated the establishment of post-Roman kingdoms. Unlike the more formalized relationships with client kingdoms along the empire’s eastern and north African frontiers, interactions along the northern and eastern European borders were more fluid. The paper posits that gift-giving, particularly of imperial brooches and gold medallions, was central to establishing political relationships between the Roman emperor and rulers beyond the frontier. These gifts created networks of obligation, with recipients potentially owing peace, tribute, or military service. A newly identified imperial brooch from Ureki in Georgia suggests a wider geographical reach of these networks. However, by the fifth century, rulers beyond the frontier began to imitate Roman symbols of power, commissioning their own versions from local craftworkers. By doing so, they cut themselves loose from earlier ties of obligation. The paper concludes that this long history of interaction and mimesis of Roman power structures enabled populations beyond the Roman frontier to understand and ultimately emulate Roman imperial power.