Melinda A. Zeder

Highlights ► I review the impact of Flannery’s Broad Spectrum Revolution from 1969 to today. ► Linkage between population pressure, resource depression, and the BSR is questioned. ► The BSR occurs in resource rich areas without population pressure. ► Optimal foraging theory has conceptual flaws that ... [view more]

Highlights

► I review the impact of Flannery’s Broad Spectrum Revolution from 1969 to today. ► Linkage between population pressure, resource depression, and the BSR is questioned. ► The BSR occurs in resource rich areas without population pressure. ► Optimal foraging theory has conceptual flaws that cannot be reconciled with the BSR. ► Niche-construction theory offers an alternative to OFT explanations of the BSR.

Christian E. Peterson; Gideon Shelach

Highlights ► The socioeconomic organization of Early Yangshao period Jiangzhai village is reconstructed. ► Archaeological features and household artifact assemblages are analyzed. ► Household population, storage capacity, and animal consumption are estimated. ► Jiangzhai exhibits variation in household activity emphases and surplus accumulation. ► This variation is... [view more]

Highlights

► The socioeconomic organization of Early Yangshao period Jiangzhai village is reconstructed. ► Archaeological features and household artifact assemblages are analyzed. ► Household population, storage capacity, and animal consumption are estimated. ► Jiangzhai exhibits variation in household activity emphases and surplus accumulation. ► This variation is characteristic of later more complex societies in northern China.

Benjamin S. Arbuckle

Highlights ► This paper explores the social roles of livestock in complex pre-state societies in Chalcolithic Anatolia. ► Changes in the production, distribution and consumption of livestock are documented at three sites in central Turkey. ► Changes in the animal economy played a central role in the ... [view more]

Highlights

► This paper explores the social roles of livestock in complex pre-state societies in Chalcolithic Anatolia. ► Changes in the production, distribution and consumption of livestock are documented at three sites in central Turkey. ► Changes in the animal economy played a central role in the rise of inequality in the Middle and Late Chalcolithic.

Edward Reuben Swenson; John P. Warner

Highlights

► We analyze Moche copper production as rituals of sacrifice and bodily transformation. ► An analysis of metallurgy reveals the distinctive relational ontology of the Moche. ► Metal crafting and architectural renovation created Moche political subjectivities.

Lori E. Wright

Graphical abstract Highlights ► 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O ratios of tooth enamel identify migrants in burials at the Maya city of Tikal. ► Migrants are identified statistically as outlying values in the sample distribution. ► Early Classic burials include a larger proportion of migrants than Late Classic period ... [view more]

Graphical abstract

► ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O ratios of tooth enamel identify migrants in burials at the Maya city of Tikal. ► Migrants are identified statistically as outlying values in the sample distribution. ► Early Classic burials include a larger proportion of migrants than Late Classic period burials. ► Migrants are found among low status and elite residential interments. ► Migrants originated in the nearby Maya lowlands, highland Guatemala, and possibly central Mexico.

Angelos Hadjikoumis

Highlights ► The study of traditional pig husbandry in Iberia offers interpretative aid to archaeological data. ► Pig morphology depends on genetics (wild–domestic) and the environment (natural–artificial). ► Behaviour is as important as morphology in the successful adaptation of pigs to their environment. ► ... [view more]

Highlights

► The study of traditional pig husbandry in Iberia offers interpretative aid to archaeological data. ► Pig morphology depends on genetics (wild–domestic) and the environment (natural–artificial). ► Behaviour is as important as morphology in the successful adaptation of pigs to their environment. ► Age and sex, as well as many other attributes, are heavily affected by the scale of pig herding.

Ben A. Shepard

Highlights ► Diachronic comparison of hunter-gatherer burials from Mid-Holocene Siberia presented. ► Layout, artifacts, and demographics indicate new uses for burials ∼3000 BC. ► Wealth displays, differentiation replace emphasis on widespread corporate initiation. ► Political economic shift may relate to new inter-regional interaction ... [view more]

Highlights

► Diachronic comparison of hunter-gatherer burials from Mid-Holocene Siberia presented. ► Layout, artifacts, and demographics indicate new uses for burials ∼3000 BC. ► Wealth displays, differentiation replace emphasis on widespread corporate initiation. ► Political economic shift may relate to new inter-regional interaction opportunities.

Wesley D. Stoner

Highlights

► GIS models provide political boundary hypotheses for the Classic Tuxtla Mountains. ► Artifact and architectural styles are used to evaluate the hypotheses. ► The political boundary is characterized based on seven qualitative variables.

Colleen Zori; Erika Brant

Highlights ► Late prehistoric northern Chile presented significant ecological and social risks. ► Settlement patterns, ceramics, and rock art reveal risk management strategies. ► Communities coped with drought through trade, diversification, and extensification. ► Risk of food shortfalls exacerbated inter-group raiding and intra-community strife.... [view more]

Highlights

► Late prehistoric northern Chile presented significant ecological and social risks. ► Settlement patterns, ceramics, and rock art reveal risk management strategies. ► Communities coped with drought through trade, diversification, and extensification. ► Risk of food shortfalls exacerbated inter-group raiding and intra-community strife. ► Defensive sites, alliances, and ritualized trade ameliorated the risk of conflict.