The Côa rock art covers 17 km of the river valley and extends along the banks of the Douro, downstream of the confluence between the two rivers. A total of 194 different panels with Palaeolithic zoomorphic motifs have already been identified. Later prehistoric and historic periods, especially the Iron Age, are also represented. Settlement of the valley in Upper Palaeolithic times is documented by residential sites dating to the Gravettian, the Solutrean and the Magdalenian periods. Results of stylistic analysis, whose chronological predictions have been independently confirmed by superposition patterns derived from the figurative stratigraphies observed in the numerous palimpsests known, indicate that all these periods are also represented in the art. The outdoor location of the Palaeolithic art, the size of the territory, the number and aesthetic quality of the motifs represented and the almost uninterrupted continuity to the present of the artistic use of the region's rock faces concur to the uniqueness of this complex of sites. Accordingly, an Archaeological Park was established in the area, the construction of the dam that threatened to flood the rock art has been abandoned and the valley is to be included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

This paper is a study of diet and subsistence among Mesolithic and Early Neolithic populations in the Iron Gates section of the Danube Valley, with emphasis on the sites of Lepenski Vir and Vlasac in Serbia and Schela Cladovei in Romania. The first part of the paper reviews the evidence of animal and plant residues and human skeletal indicators; the second presents new data from stable isotopic analyses of human bone supported by AMS 14C dates. Isotopic and dental evidence suggest that Mesolithic people prior to 7600 BP had high protein diets in which the bulk of the protein was derived from riverine food sources. Significant differences are evident between the isotopic signals of Mesolithic males and females buried at Vlasac and Lepenski Vir, indicating differences in overall diet. These differences are most easily explained in terms of movement of individuals between groups, linked to the practice of local group exogamy. A shift in dietary pattern occurred at Lepenski Vir between ca 7600 and 7300 BP. The bone chemistry of individuals post-dating 7300 BP reflects the intake of significantly higher proportions of terrestrial foods. This change may reflect the introduction of stock-raising and/or cultivation in the Iron Gates. If so, then the transition from Late Mesolithic to Neolithic at Lepenski Vir was not characterised by a wholesale shift in subsistence from foraging to farming; the earliest Neolithic inhabitants of the site continued to obtain a significant proportion of their dietary protein from riverine resources. The wider implications of the AMS dates and stable isotopic data are also considered.

This paper proposes that social identities can be studied through the cultural construction of appearance, since this is a powerful visual mediation of identities and is a component in the learning of social roles. Three analytical principles about the construction of appearances are outlined and applied to different case studies. This illustrates how differences are created in appearance. The main characteristics and trends in appearance during the Bronze Age are then outlined. The studies show that some of the categories cross-cut other principles of identity formation. In particular it seems that while the categorical distinction between male and female affects material culture from the earliest Bronze Age, during the Middle Bronze Age different categories of women are created as well. Through the studies neglected aspects of Bronze Age social relations and ideology are brought to our attention.

The deposition of huge amounts of copper and bronze items is one of the major changes in ritual which distinguishes the European Bronze Age from previous and later periods. A macroeconomic approach has been chosen for characterizing two transitional phases in Central Europe: The beginning of Early Bronze Age and the formation of Late Bronze Age civilization. Both are characterized by new features on two levels: ritual practices and the organisation of exchange. The general acceptance of copper and bronze for a variety of new functions (medium of exchange, symbols of rank, votive offerings) promoted increased demand. Regional response led to technological progress in sulphide copper smelting which expanded continuously. A crash of the Early Bronze Age cultural system in the eastern part of Central Europe is suspected to have completely altered the situation. The following second phase brought a new cultural network and changed the attitude towards bronze. It promoted an incipient economy of demand using weighed metal as a multiple-purpose money. The circulation of scrap metal and ingots, both graded according to weight or size, are relevant indicators. Fragments of ox-hide ingots from southern Germany underscore the wide range of interacting regional systems.

Some generalising approaches to the study of European Iron Age as demonstrated in the case of the La Tène period rectangular enclosures and pottery in Central Europe are critically evaluated. The regional diversity in the evolution of settlement structure and material culture, with the structure of find assemblages varying substantially in time and place, must be considered. It is therefore hardly possible to discuss issues of site function by comparison with the structure of ceramic assemblages from sites differing in type and in regional specificity at the same time. There are many reasons to believe that the Central European La Tène rectangular enclosures cannot be viewed as venues for feasting accompanied by drinking, as proposed by Murray (1995). Theoretical models and non-traditional methodological approaches are needed in European studies, conservative in many aspects up to now, and are most welcome, but not without respecting the related data sets and their regional background in their full complexity.

In recent research, the interpretation of the Scandinavian early Medieval period has changed to emphasise increasingly the leading role of South Scandinavia. Comparisons have been made between the South-Scandinavian kingdom and the early Frankish empire, including the probable existence of royal retinues. The territorial organisation of Scandinavia is discussed and used as the basis for a re-assessment of Style II as an indication of the movement of South-Scandinavian royal retainers. The organisation of retinues is discussed with reference to comparative Continental analyses, Beowulf, and later Nordic sources. They all seem to describe the same system: young warriors following a lord in order to achieve honour and wealth. Ring-swords and helmets are suggested by Continental scholars to betoken the Frankish royal retinue, and it is here suggested that ring-swords and Style II on weaponry and horse-equipment indicate the same in Scandinavia. On the basis of a regional and chronological analysis of Style II and its context, the assumed distribution of the probable retainers is studied. This reveals a clear structure in alliances, as well as the targets for military activities organised by the South-Scandinavian kings. It results in a conquest of Öland, Sweden, in the late sixth century AD and at least threats against Vestfold, Norway, in the seventh century AD.

This study is part of broader ethnoarchaeological studies of the value attributed to various cuts of beef and pork. It is aimed at establishing a perspective from which the osteological and cultural aspects of palaeodiets can be equally evaluated. Meat prices analysed in this study originate from 24 supermarkets in 16 developed countries. The great regional variability of identical cuts, and especially intestines shows the importance of local traditions which when combined with the actual nutritional value are expressed in retail prices.

Measurements of the orientation of Maltese dolmens show that they are aligned so as to run parallel with landscape contours and in particular with the flow of streams in the valleys below them. This result indicates that the dolmens served purposes other than that of mere burial places of the dead and that natural features of the landscape held meaning and significance for prehistoric people.