The role that Anatolia played in the formation of Neolithic cultures has generally been overlooked. However, recent work indicates the presence of a new formation zone in Central Anatolia, distinct in all elements of culture from the traditional Levantine–Mesopotamian zone which also includes Southeastern Turkey. A conspectus of the recent evidence indicates that, even in areas where cultural elements are similar, there is considerable diversity in subsistence patterns. Thus, it is evident that subsistence patterns were not as significant as previously envisaged in defining the status of Neolithic communities or in stimulating their appearance. Moreover, the range of available resources in the broad-ranging habitats of Central and Western Anatolia seem to have been a potent factor both in the initial Neolithic and its later developments. The Neolithic cultures of Anatolia were much less dependent upon domesticates, with sedentary life strongly supported by hunting and gathering.

The pre-pottery Neolithic of the Near East provides a model based upon extremely complex and sophisticated socio-cultural developments, with indications of a ruling elite in control of the economy and ritual life. The collapse of this system by the end of the PPNB seemingly reflected social upheavals which provoked a massive migration to other regions. Apart from this factor, the rich environmental potential of the Aegean or the Balkans would have been sufficient to support the spread of the whole Neolithic population from Anatolia.

The main questions addressed in this paper are these: How can we conceptualise power? How can we identify power relations in the archaeological record? How can we explain the emergence of asymmetrical power relations?

These questions will be approached by discussing the creation of value and prestige in primitive societies, with particular emphasis on the practice of conspicuous consumption. I shall argue that an object's value is created not only through labour at the moment of production, but also during its circulation within gift exchange networks, and through its consumption (destruction, deposition) in ostentatious ceremonies. While both gift exchange and conspicuous consumption are central strategies for the creation of value and prestige, I suggest that there is a crucial difference between them: conspicuous consumption brings about the abolition of the reciprocal relationship on which gift exchange is based. The initiation (and indeed the institutionalisation) of conspicuous consumption is therefore an important strategy in creating, rather than simply expressing or legitimating asymmetrical relationships.

The theoretical discussion will be applied to a specific historical problem: the transformation of the largely egalitarian kin-based Middle Bronze Age societies of the southern Greek mainland into the hierarchical Mycenaean (i.e. Late Bronze Age) palatial system. I shall argue that conspicuous consumption in the mortuary sphere was not simply a symptom, but a crucial element of the deep structural transformation that swept the southern mainland at the transition to the Late Bronze Age.

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.

According to a model of local cultural development, human adaptation to the specific conditions of the habitat in the third–late second millennium BC led to the appearance of a culture of the ‘mobile herders’ in the Eurasian steppe. Recent major studies of the key role of the horse and an increased mobility of these people provide the background for the origin and development of a new system of armament. The bow and arrow were at the centre of this new nomadic military equipment, A three-stage model for the evolution of the Bronze Age nomadic bow shows the existence of two types of bow in the Eurasian steppe during the Bronze Age: a traditional long bow of a simple type and a short composite bow. A new type of bow appeared in the first half of the second millennium BC, short enough to be used on horseback, and composite for extra power. The earliest evidence for such bows is clearly localised on the western part of the Eurasian steppe, but the technical innovation quickly spread throughout the steppe to the East.

This article will investigate the phenomenon of urban decay and collapse, primarily using examples from the ancient Mediterranean world, but also through comparison with David Byrne's recent investigation of contemporary urban breakdown phenomena in northern England. The analytical approach I wish to introduce to shed new light on this phenomenon is Chaos–Complexity Theory, which has a growing attraction for many social scientists in its potential for resolving the oppositional stances of Modernism and Postmodernism.

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.

Until recently, aerial reconnaissance in Europe was performed almost exclusively by British, German and French specialists. Under the influence of traditional paradigms in archaeology, this discipline was considered in almost all countries as a means of detecting new sites rather than an instrument for the study of spatial relations between past prehistoric communities and their areas, on the one hand, and between people and their natural environment on the other. At the same time, national campaigns in aerial reconnaissance have not been completed by systematic applications of other non-destructive field methods which help to evaluate the potential of air survey and which can bring its results closer to the solution of the principal theoretical problems of settlement archaeology. Since landscape archaeology has changed the archaeological paradigm during the last 25 years, data from aerial photographs have been increasingly evaluated. Since the beginning of this decade, countries of Central and Eastern Europe have started up aerial archaeological projects. A close cooperation between archaeologists from once-divided Europe in the field of aerial archaeology has stressed the feeling of common European roots among archaeologists of all periods.

The historical constitution of the region's past is considered through the study of folklore, miscellaneous ‘lay’ sources, commercial histories and antiquarian accounts – all variously socially and economically sympathetic. Of broad relevance is the changing nature of reference/authority, the conceptualisation of landscape as waste/frontier and the role of ‘natives’. In this case of internal colonialism, parallels are drawn concerning the status of land and archaeological practice within the developing world today.

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.

The paper deals with classical archaeology and art history in Brazil and its scholarly revolutionary role. Brazilian society is characterised as grounded on patronage and the recent history of archaeology in the country is related to the Cold War period, when there was a military dictatorship in Brazil supported by the United States. Archaeology suffered particularly, but classical archaeology was a way of avoiding direct persecution and also of being in touch with up-to-date social theory. Classical archaeology and art history developed a scholarly approach to science which ran counter to the prevailing mediocrity resulting from patronage. Scholarship itself is revolutionary and both disciplines, thanks mostly to their European roots, have been active in challenging clientship schemes.

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.

This paper argues that, if we are to understand the intrinsic nature of archaeology as a social practice, we have to situate the way in which we are conducting archaeological practices in both local and global contexts for considering a way forward. This contention is supported by a critical account of the current crisis situation in which Japanese archaeology operates. It is argued that this crisis situation has resulted from changes which have been taking place in both macro- and microlevels of Japanese social reality. A Marxist tradition, which had kept theory and practice of Japanese archaeology integrated with a certain sense of reality, collapsed from changes which took place in the international political climate and in domestic social conditions. Those changes had significant effects not only upon the discursive level of the consciousness of the archaeologist but also upon the non-discursive level of the consciousness of the archaeologist. The current condition of the non-discursive consciousness of the archaeologist makes it almost impossible to grasp the causes of the crisis and to consider a possible way out.

It is argued that the creation of a critical ontology, enabling us discursively to grasp the causes of the crisis, is badly needed to improve the situation. It is proposed that such a critical ontology should enable us to grasp the mechanism of the formation of non-discursive/practical consciousness of ourselves which, together with the experience of the material conditions, constitutes the subjective conditions under which we conduct our archaeological practice.

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.