The Konya Plain in western Turkey hosted some of the earliest known farming communities beyond the Fertile Crescent. While robust radiocarbon chronologies have elucidated the development of local Neolithic settlement patterns, particularly for Çatalhöyük, the history of occupation at Canhasan sites III and I to the south-east is less clear. Here, the authors present new radiocarbon dates for these sites, demonstrating that these settlements align closely with the occupation sequence to the north. Aceramic Neolithic occupation at Canhasan III further emphasises Çatalhöyük East's isolation for most of the Ceramic Neolithic, while Canhasan I was reoccupied during a phase of dispersed settlement.

There is a complex interplay between mobility and cognition in older adults. We have previously shown that a high-DHA multi-nutrient supplement improves habitual walking speed, verbal memory and psychomotor response latency in older women. Exercise also improves mobility and cognition in older adults, and n-3 fatty acids and exercise share a range of overlapping biological effects. This study examined for the first time the effects of the high-DHA multi-nutrient supplement and aerobic exercise on mobility and cognition in older women. Women (mean age 67 (sd 8) years) were assigned to the following groups: multi-nutrient (1 g DHA, 160 mg EPA, 240 mg Ginkgo biloba, 60 mg phosphatidylserine, 20 mg d-α tocopherol, 1 mg folic acid and 20 µg vitamin B12 per d, n 13), multi-nutrient and exercise (spin class twice per week, n 14), exercise and placebo (n 12) or placebo (n 12). The multi-nutrient was given for 24 weeks and exercise for 12 weeks. No treatment effects were observed for the primary outcome, habitual walking speed. Improvements in verbal memory and executive function were seen for all treatments groups v. placebo (all, P < 0·05). Significant improvements in self-reported emotional well-being were seen with multi-nutrient and exercise groups v. placebo (P = 0·03). The results suggest that the high-DHA multi-nutrient supplement produces similar improvements in cognitive function to aerobic exercise, offering the intriguing prospect that supplementation may be able to mitigate some of the effects of low physical activity on cognitive function in the elderly.

Intensive archaeobotanical investigations at Çatalhöyük have created a unique opportunity to explore change and continuity in plant use through the ca 1,500-year Neolithic to early Chalcolithic sequence of an early established farming community. The combination of crops and herd animals in the earliest (Aceramic) part of the sequence reflects a distinct and diverse central Anatolian ‘package’ at the end of the eighth millennium cal. BC. Here we report evidence for near continual adjustment of cropping regimes through time at Çatalhöyük, featuring recruitment of minor crops or crop contaminants to become major staples. We use panarchy theory to frame an understanding of Çatalhöyük's long-term sustainability, arguing that its resilience was a function of three key factors: its diverse initial crop spectrum, which acted as an archive for later innovations; its modular social structure, enabling small-scale experimentation and innovation in cropping at the household level; and its agglomerated social morphology, allowing successful developments to be scaled up across the wider community. This case study in long-term sustainability through flexible, changeable cropping strategies is significant not only for understanding so-called boom and bust cycles elsewhere but also for informing wider agro-ecological understanding of sustainable development in central Anatolia and beyond.

Excavations in the rockshelter at Pınarbaşı, 24.5km south-east of Çatalhöyük, have brought to light a sequence of structures and a rich assemblage of animal bones, with some of the bones embedded in plaster objects. The authors argue for a strong link with Çatalhöyük, and propose a hunter-herder site operated by a close-knit group from that settlement, supplying meat to it, but practising their own up-country rituals — so providing a glimpse of the ‘lived landscape’.

In the Neolithic megasite at Çatalhöyük families lived side by side in conjoined dwellings, like a pueblo. It can be assumed that people were always in and out of each others' houses – in this case via the roof. Social mechanisms were needed to make all this run smoothly, and in a tour-de-force of botanical, faunal and spatial analysis the authors show how it worked. Families stored their own produce of grain, fruit, nuts and condiments in special bins deep inside the house, but displayed the heads and horns of aurochs near the entrance. While the latter had a religious overtone they also remembered feasts, episodes of sharing that mitigated the provocations of a full larder.

Twenty schizophrenic patients with tardive dyskinesia and an equal number of matched controls were tested on a novel cognitive task. The task had two components: cued response and spatial memory. Relative to controls, the dyskinetic subjects showed a superior cued response performance but an equal spatial memory ability. We speculate that this selective facilitation may reflect dopaminergic hyperactivity in the dyskinetic group.

The Department of Health is introducing a ‘payment by results’ system for mental health services in the UK. The system is already being used in the acute healthcare sector, but is still under development for application in mental healthcare. This article outlines the concept of payment by results, briefly reports on its use in other countries and describes the pilot study underway in England to define currencies to be used in a payment by results system planned for NHS mental healthcare throughout England and Wales.

Evidence for the presence of storage pits described in Hittite texts by the Sumerogram ÉSAG is presented from Kaman-Kalehöyük, a multi-period tell site in central Turkey occupied during the second and first millennia BC. Small earthen pits matching the description of ÉSAG were part of the normal suite of domestic installations at the site throughout the period. Similar to pits seen across western Eurasia, they were probably used to store seed corn or seed for trade. Large earthen pits (>7m in diameter) were also present that matched the description of the ÉSAG form, and in some cases contained archaeological cereal remains. Evidence from Kaman shows ÉSAG were part of Anatolian life for at least 4,000 years and suggests that the term was generic for lined, earthen storage pits. The presence of so many small pits at Kaman-Kalehöyük showed that it was an agricultural production site for much of its existence. The appearance of the large pits, confined to the Hittite period, reflects centralised control of grain supply, probably by the Hittite Kingdom, and fits a pattern seen at other sites in the region during the second millennium BC.

Direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of anaerobically preserved plant remains from the Dongan site in New Guinea, combined with assessment of preservation condition, confirms earlier doubts about the antiquity of betelnut (Areca catechu L.) found at the site. A possible sago leaf fragment is also identified as a modern contaminant. The mid-Holocene age of other fruit and nut remains is verified using these methods. The utility of AMS dating in combination with detailed archaeobotanical assessment is demonstrated, thus improving chronometric hygiene and with it knowledge of past plant use in Oceania.