This is an edited volume of twenty-one chapters resulting from presentations given at the British Academy conference of the same title. It celebrates the achievements and identifies the potential of interdisciplinarity in archaeology, with a particular focus on recent advances made possible through the application of (many recently developed) scientific approaches to answer key questions relating to the adoption of farming in Europe, covering a period from c 7000 to 3000 bc. Although organised on broad themes that encompass the origins and spread of Neolithic farming, lifeways and materialities, an overarching concern with scale, together with concomitant issues of complexity and the nature of questions asked by the archaeologist, emerges repeatedly.

A diverse range of scientific methods is represented, including isotope analyses, multi-agent modelling, aDNA and lipid analysis, together with more traditional osteological, zooarchaeological and palaeobotanical techniques and material culture studies. Particularly successful chapters are those that describe projects which have brought together a suite of complementary scientific approaches that form more than the sum of their parts when harnessed in combination. To pick just two examples, Brandt et al combine traditional osteological approaches with aDNA, light stable isotope and strontium isotope analyses in their examination of burials from Karsdorf, an LBK (Linearbandkeramic) site in Germany, to explore aspects of life that include mobility, familial relationships and community structure, while Bogaard et al discuss the value of employing weed ecology alongside stable isotope analysis to elucidate the nature of early agricultural practices. Emphasis is placed upon the meaningful and critical situation of research. Enhancing and developing existing knowledge is a feature of many contributions, and is to be applauded.

While acknowledging the exciting potential offered by the application of scientific techniques, Sheridan and Halstead are both right to urge a note of caution, highlighting the limitations of particular methods, and the necessity for informed application and interpretation. However, one of the strengths of this volume is its focus on research that actively demonstrates the value of trying new methods, rather than simply critiquing the status quo and calling for change, a malaise that has, frustratingly, blighted so many volumes in recent years. Key is a willingness to communicate effectively and to be open to adopting new, potentially challenging techniques and ways of working.

It therefore seems particularly apposite that these composite approaches, incorporating methods developed in diverse specialisms, should find focus in research dedicated to the adoption of farming. New ways of being, of engaging with the world, inevitably involve experimentation, innovation and an element of risk, the impact of which can never be fully appreciated without the benefit of hindsight. Both the development of farming and a new cross-disciplinary, scientific archaeology arguably engender new ways of being: the depth of that impact is, of course, a matter of scale.