Relationships among food, people, culture, and environments have long been central to archaeological inquiry, and they have been examined through different theoretical lenses. In this book, Alan Outram and Amy Bogaard explore the history of archaeology by the “Palaeoeconomy School,” as developed at the University of Cambridge in the mid-twentieth century, and its enduring impacts on current research.

Intellectual legacies of Eric Higgs and Grahame Clark are widespread in archaeology, especially within British archaeology. Beginning in 1966, with “The Early History of Agriculture” project and resulting publications (including volumes published by Cambridge in 1972 and 1975), Higgs and Clark launched what became known as the “Palaeoeconomy School.” This interdisciplinary project was trailblazing in its day for generating new theory and methods, and integrating multiple proxies in studying different forms of farming in the past. Advances in archaeological theory focused largely on defining “palaeoeconomy” as an approach entwined with issues of space and territory, such as site catchment analysis, models for the spread of farming in situations where hunter-gatherers and farmers overlapped and interacted, and developments associated with the secondary products revolution. Methodologically, this work spurred developments in archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, and experimental archaeology. Outram and Bogaard credit Higgs and his team with developing and implementing analytical tools such as systematic flotation to recover macrobotanical remains, making age and sex determinations for archaeofaunal specimens to identify culling profiles, and including ethnography and ethnographic analogy in archaeological research. This approach focused on human economy (with an emphasis on subsistence), with methodological specialists trained in archaeology.

Following the Higgs model, Outram and Bogaard include sections on theory and method within their book, followed by considerations of case studies. Chapter 1 summarizes the origins, development, and legacies of economic prehistory at the University of Cambridge, and Chapter 2 outlines key models and critiques of them, especially postprocessual critiques that have pointed to the alleged “determinism” of an economic and environmental approach. Outram and Bogaard discuss how these critiques have influenced interpretations and presentations of project outcomes by British archaeologists. Key models include site catchment analysis and optimal foraging theory, along with carrying capacity, population growth, and niche construction. Although clearly not all of these are the sole intellectual products of the Palaeoeconomy School, the authors connect the development of earlier approaches (e.g., site catchment) to current investigations in archaeology of ecological productivity, predictability, and territoriality. Outram and Bogaard contend that environmental and economic models are not inherently deterministic, and when applied appropriately, they result in valuable evidence for understanding ancient societies.

These theory-focused chapters are followed by a series of chapters on methods. Much of the early work of the Palaeoeconomy School was centered on now-conventional techniques in archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, and spatial analyses. In Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6, Outram and Bogaard summarize and discuss new methods that expand on the old ones. Here, they review what has been and can be learned from studying stable isotopes, lipid and protein residues, archaeogenetics, and microbotanical samples. These chapters include basic introductions to analytical techniques and also delve into how they can (and cannot) be integrated into research focused on broad arrays of subsistence questions. Nuanced presentations of these methods and comparisons with conventional techniques in zooarchaeology and archaeobotany are refreshing, and these chapters are valuable readings for graduate and undergraduate courses.

The real gems of the volume are the two integrated case studies stemming from the authors’ respective areas of expertise: early farming in central Europe (Bogaard, Chapter 7) and horse domestication and the origins of pastoralism in central Asia (Outram, Chapter 8). In both instances, Bogaard and Outram draw from immense datasets and multiple proxies generated by teams of specialists to compose compelling narratives of early farming and horse pastoralism in these regions. These chapters provide clear examples of a paleoeconomical approach for the twenty-first century, and they highlight important research from the past 20+ years. Chapter 9 argues that the Palaeoeconomy School is alive and well, although more nuanced than its original form, and with great potential for future directions.

Overall, this volume provides for engaging reading on archaeological history, methodology, and case studies. However, there are a few points that may be of particular interest for North American archaeologists. First, this volume does not deal with “economic archaeology” as many North American scholars understand it (sensu Kenneth Hirth, The Organization of Ancient Economies: A Global Perspective, 2020). Instead, it is focused largely on subsistence-related questions. Furthermore, both Outram and Bogaard self-identify as second-generation “Higgies,” and this book highlights the history of the Palaeoeconomy School and its effects on shaping British archaeology today. The book often reads like a celebration of this legacy, and it seems largely geared toward other British archaeologists with their own ties to this particular intellectual tradition. For outsiders, it feels at times like a glimpse into an exclusive club. Contributions to the central tenets of paleoeconomy from outside of the “school” are underplayed. American readers will miss references to contributions from this side of the pond to theory and methods; non-British scholars whose research specifically contributes to the case studies in Central Asia and Central Europe considered in the book receive little or limited consideration. That said, however, this volume is a rich overview of both the history of the Palaeoeconomy School and current research demonstrating the complexities of multiproxy approaches to these issues. It shows how modern ideas, methods, and technologies build on past intellectual developments to advance our understanding of plant cultivation and animal husbandry in past societies.