Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory最新文献

{"title":"The Tool Systems Approach: Measuring Complexity in the Primatological, Archaeological, and Ethnographic Records","authors":"James Clark, Lucy Timbrell, Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias, Laura van Holstein, Jonathan Paige, Antoine Muller, Chris Clarkson, Kathelijne Koops, Eleanor M. L. Scerri, Manuel Will","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09779-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09779-z","url":null,"abstract":"Measuring technological complexity across species, as well as across temporal and spatial scales, is an ongoing challenge among authors who work on primatological, archaeological, and/or ethnographic questions. Researchers in these individual fields have developed a number of innovative ways of approaching this issue that reflect the specific affordances of their data with a known set of limitations. However, comparability between these approaches is often difficult. One such field-specific approach is the techno-unit method of Oswalt <italic>et al.</italic> (1976), which has had a massive impact on our interpretation of ethnographic technology over the fifty years since its publication. Nevertheless, this method has issues with its compression of variability and the different pathways to “complexity”. Here, we review a number of different ways technological complexity has been measured in non-human primates, the archaeological record, and modern human foragers, in order to identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of each. We suggest that the approach deployed in any given study should continue to follow the data and research questions under consideration, but that we lack an easily-applicable method that allows explicit comparisons between fields of study. In this context, we introduce the Tool Systems Approach as one possible way of doing so, which decomposes tool manufacture into its constituent steps (<italic>i.e.</italic>, Tool Systems Total) and discrete forms of action (<italic>i.e.</italic>, Total Discrete Actions). We apply the approach to a number of different technologies across the three fields, to explore the practicalities of its application, as well as its limitations. Plotting these different technologies with regards to their maximum complexity through time reveals trends that may map onto important changes in cognitive evolution, which are also reflected in ever-growing variability in the complexity of individual artefacts. The ramifications for the study of technological complexity as a whole are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147702321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bone Ethnography: What we Have Missed and Why it Matters to Archaeological Interpretation","authors":"Eugène Morin","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09777-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09777-1","url":null,"abstract":"Because they largely rely on recent ethnographic data shaped in various ways by processes of colonial expansion, archaeological models of human–animal interactions may miss important dimensions of subsistence variability. When assessed critically, cross-cultural analyses of early accounts by missionaries, explorers, traders, and ethnographers provide a rich framework for expanding these models, yielding valuable insights into foraging behavior during earlier stages of colonial contact and across a broader spectrum of small-scale societies. Drawing on a large sample of ethnohistorical and ethnographic cases (<italic>n</italic> = 942, including 128 cases published in Russian, French, German, and other non-English languages) from all inhabited continents, this article documents global patterns of animal bone processing and disposal, with particular attention to both practical and spiritual motivations. The analysis indicates that processing activities are primarily governed by practical considerations. In contrast, cultural prescriptions play in certain regions a far more significant role in shaping disposal practices than has generally been appreciated, with bones often burned or discarded off-site for spiritual reasons. The results also draw attention to practices rarely considered in archaeology, such as the widespread consumption of crushed bone from animals as large as deer. Processing accounts further show that fat is widely viewed as a delicacy, especially in soft, low-melting forms. Regional comparisons suggest that widely distributed conceptions regarding animals may have deep roots and were possibly shared by groups that colonized the Americas. Together, these findings underscore how an integrated ethnohistorical and ethnographic perspective can substantially advance archaeological interpretation.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148285895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morphometric Analysis of Roman Ceramic Vessels Embedded in Taberna Counters at Pompeii Using 3D Modelling","authors":"Xinyan Zhao, Yoshiki Hori","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09774-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09774-4","url":null,"abstract":"Recent expansion of scientific analytical methods within archaeology has prompted a re-evaluation of traditional approaches to data acquisition and interpretation. This study examines large ceramic vessels embedded in the counters of Pompeian tabernae—contexts in which conventional recording cannot directly measure the interiors and therefore cannot capture complete interior geometries. Applying a handheld structured-light scanner, we recorded the vessels’ interior surfaces with high precision and produced complete 3D models of these counter-embedded vessels, providing a foundation for diverse morphometric and geometric analyses. In particular, a central axis estimated from the centroids of serial cross-sections served as the principal parameter for morphological analysis, from which we infer aspects of forming techniques and the use-related behaviors they may encode. The results demonstrate the feasibility and analytical value of 3D modelling and quantitative geometry for addressing complex archaeological problems. More broadly, the axis-based framework presented here offers a reproducible method for investigating vessel manufacture and makes analytically tractable domains that previously could not be examined, thereby offering new perspectives on vessel formation and artisanal practices.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147702320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond the Layer: A 3D-Driven Generalized Methodology for the Quantitative Dissection of Archaeological Palimpsests","authors":"Filippo Zangrossi, Diego Lombao, Alessio Veneziano, Manuel Vaquero","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09776-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09776-2","url":null,"abstract":"Accurately defining the temporal relationships between archaeological events is essential to avoid misleading interpretations of human behavior. The dissection of archaeological palimpsests seeks to achieve the highest possible resolution in reconstructing the sequence of human activities recorded within a single stratigraphic layer, overcoming the sedimentological uniformity that masks distinct depositional events. While numerous methodologies have been developed and applied over recent decades, the potential of virtual and three-dimensional technologies in this field remains underexplored. In this contribution, we propose ArchStrat: a novel method that employs 3D technology to discriminate the diachronic deposition of refitting groups, fragments originally part of the same object, by quantifying their vertical displacement relative to the minimum spatial volume they occupy. This approach enables a more precise identification of the temporal sequence of events within a stratigraphic context. We define the applicability domain to determine which pairs of refits are suitable for this analysis, then we conduct a sensitivity analysis to assess the efficiency of the method, and finally, we test the protocol through a virtual excavation simulation. Our results demonstrate the significant potential of 3D virtual techniques in dissecting archaeological palimpsests, offering new insights into site formation processes and allowing a more refined understanding of human activities over time.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"125 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147702322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Emergence of Leadership, Power, and Prestige: The New Guinea Case","authors":"Paul Roscoe, Nils Müller-Scheeßel","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09772-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09772-6","url":null,"abstract":"Leadership, power, and prestige fundamentally structure human social worlds, and their emergence and developmental trajectories have attracted considerable archaeological discussion. To understand their antecedents and emergence, we develop and test a Social-Signaling Hypothesis that was originally advanced to explain conflict management in the small-scale societies that routinely attract archaeological attention. The hypothesis proposes that leadership, power, and prestige emerge from, and are acquired through, honest displays of individual and collective fighting strength. This proposition sidesteps critical flaws in current hypotheses concerning these developments, and it generates several novel predictions they are ill-equipped to explain. We begin by summarising and identifying the problems in current theorising. We then develop the Social-Signaling Hypothesis, before testing its predictions about leadership against an ethnographic database drawn from 151 of New Guinea’s small-scale societies. We find that the hypothesis accounts more parsimoniously for a wider range of data on leadership, power, and prestige than do prevailing hypotheses.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147702323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to: Theoretical Origins and Biocultural Approaches to Taphonomy in Bioarchaeology","authors":"Trent M. Trombley, Sabrina C. Agarwal","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09782-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09782-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147586581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-Term Population Dynamics Following Innovations in Food Production","authors":"Jacob Freeman, Erick Robinson","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09770-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09770-8","url":null,"abstract":"Researchers often posit that innovations in the production of food impact the long-term carrying capacity of human populations. Yet, this proposition has rarely been evaluated by a systematic comparison of different innovations in food production and population dynamics over deep-time. To fill this knowledge gap, we use an Ideal Specialization Model (ISM) to explain how innovations in networks of technology may drive different patterns of population expansion. A comparison of 33 deep-time archaeological records from across the world suggests that internal innovations in the production of food lead to more incremental demographic transitions and more frequent Malthusian periods. In contrast, external innovations in food production lead to larger demographic transitions and fewer Malthusian periods. These results document a similarity between human population dynamics during the spread of industrialization and the evolution of food production. Our work contributes to understanding the feedback between population growth and innovation processes that humans faced in the past and will face in the future.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"63 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147536277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fortress of Culture: Reinterpreting Krobo Mountain Site Through the Perspective of Persistent Places","authors":"William Narteh Gblerkpor","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09775-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09775-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147536091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sodium Chronicles... Grain by Grain. New Methods for Quantifying Ancient Salt Demand","authors":"A. Sotgia, L. Alessandri, P. A. J. Attema, F. Bulian, J. Sevink","doi":"10.1007/s10816-026-09771-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-026-09771-7","url":null,"abstract":"Salt played a crucial role in ancient societies, serving both dietary and industrial purposes. Despite its importance, direct quantification of salt demand remains challenging due to limited archaeological evidence and the complexity of variables involved in salt production. This study proposes an indirect approach to estimating salt consumption through a reconstructive model of agropastoral landscape exploitation. By assessing the maximum number of people and animals requiring salt, along with the production of food items such as bread, cheese, and preserved meat, this model allows for a broad estimation of salt needs in each settlement. By reconstructing the territorial system’s agricultural and pastoral economy, this research estimates salt consumption and explores its implications for settlement sustainability. The case study of the Iron Age site of ‘Piscina Torta’ (Rome, Italy)—a production site—is used to test this methodology. The study further assesses the necessary volume of seawater to meet the estimated demand. While the results are estimates, they provide a valuable reference framework for understanding salt consumption trends in early state development. Ultimately, this research highlights the significance of salt as a strategic resource, contributing to broader discussions on ancient economic systems and resource management.","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147368058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Visual Method to Compare the Quality and Complexity of Archaeological Textiles: The Cotton Mantas of Pre-Hispanic Colombia","authors":"Anne Kwaspen, Adriana Escobar-Toro, María Consuelo Moreno-González, María Alicia Uribe-Villegas, Juanita Sáenz-Samper, Marcos Martinón-Torres","doi":"10.1007/s10816-025-09758-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-025-09758-w","url":null,"abstract":"Concepts such as cost, value, skill, complexity, and quality are central to archaeological interpretations of material culture, yet often they remain undefined, resulting in subjective and inconsistent analyses. This is particularly true in archaeological textile studies, where technological complexity, cost, and craftsmanship are frequently underexplored or assessed informally. This paper proposes a formal method for evaluating and comparing the production of archaeological textiles, using complexity and quality as proxies for skill and cost. Drawing on sociology, economics, and material culture studies, we argue that value is context-dependent, shaped by both intrinsic properties of objects and cultural frameworks. Skill involves embodied knowledge and culturally informed standards of what constitutes a ‘well-made’ artefact. To operationalise these concepts, we integrate the <jats:italic>chaîne opératoire</jats:italic> with a colour-coded matrix and comparative diagrams inspired by Kuijpers’ work on metallurgical skill (2018b, 2018c). These visual tools enhance transparency, interpretation, and reproducibility across case studies. We apply this method to five types of pre-Hispanic cotton <jats:italic>mantas</jats:italic> woven by the Muisca and Guane of Colombia’s Eastern Highlands, and a further comparative set from the southern Nariño department. The analysis identifies both shared and variable features that reflect differences in complexity, quality, and labour investment. Correlations among variables reveal forms of labour organisation and social constraints. Our visualisation tools highlight patterns within and across textile assemblages. By making the technical aspects explicit, this formal approach enables better comparison, reduces bias, and fosters more nuanced understandings of craft organisation, skilled labour and complexity in past technologies. (For an extended summary of this paper in Spanish, see Supplementary Materials).","PeriodicalId":47725,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147359882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}