Archaeology and the polycrisis: priorities for future-oriented practice | Antiquity | Cambridge Core Archaeology and the polycrisis: priorities for future-oriented practice

NEW The crises facing humanity are deeply entangled, with no realistic solution.

The latest #AntiquityDebate explores #archaeology's unique position in facing this 'polycrisis' and proposes that small wins can help address these 'wicked problems' 🏺

doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Do you have a (hand)axe to grind? Antiquity publishes debate pieces on contentious issues to stimulate #archaeology discussion 🏺

Find out more and submit an #AntiquityDebate here: antiquity.ac.uk/submit

Last chance to see? The ‘Crisis of Preservation’ and pathways to a sustainable future for Europe’s peatland archaeology | Antiquity | Cambridge Core Despite repeated calls for action from various sources, peatland archaeological sites continue to deteriorate; the passive strategy of preservation in situ is failing. Here, the authors consider four challenges to peatland preservation—physical degradation, mapping and monitoring of sites, communication, and policy frameworks—with climate change ultimately causing further problems. Drawing on positive policy developments in England, they argue that advocacy for peatland archaeology needs to be louder and clearer: archaeology must become an integral consideration in all climate-change mitigation and land-use planning, rather than an afterthought, if the fragile heritage of European peatlands is to be preserved.

Peatlands preserve much incredible #archaeology that would otherwise be lost, but, despite repeated calls for action, peatlands continue to deteriorate. A recent #AntiquityDebate investigates the challenges to preservation and possible action.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

A space at the table? Global challenges and contemporary archaeology as plural transdisciplinary design for the future In this debate article, the authors argue that archaeologists seeking practical relevance must start with a critical, expanded understanding of the contemporary, including how communities, stakeholders and complex policy structures operate to navigate unfolding socioecological crises.

NEW Archaeologists often claim they can contribute to modern 'global challenges' such as climate change, but rarely get a space at the policymaking table

The latest #AntiquityDebate proposes an approach to ensure archaeology's relevance and impact 🏺 #Archaeology 1/2

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

A rewilded landscape at Knepp, Sussex. Grasses, trees and shrubs spread across a hilly landscape. Two deer stand in the scrubland.

NEW Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, but rewilding seeks to reverse this. The latest #AntiquityDebate asks if archaeologists should 'rewild their minds' to better-understand past worlds much more biodiverse than our own.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

Archaeologist in a yellow high-vis jacket and pink cap excavating a wooden trackway in a peatland. A diagonal cut runs through the trackway, made during peat extraction.

NEW Peatlands are incredibly valuable for archaeologists, preserving organic materials that usually do not survive. However, this heritage is under threat and the latest #AntiquityDebate argues action must be taken now to save the #archaeology 🏺

@royvanbeek.bsky.social

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

A decolonial archaeology of refusal, care and repair | Antiquity | Cambridge Core A decolonial archaeology of refusal, care and repair

NEW The discussion on #decolonisation is now mainstream, but it is the product of decades of social movements.

The latest #AntiquityDebate explores the real, structural changes needed to begin building a decolonial #archaeology 🏺

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

@yannisham.bsky.social

Organic preservation this perfect is often only possible in wet contexts. Sadly, they are often the areas most threatened by human intervention. A new #AntiquityDebate explores the urgency of protecting peatland #archaeology and asks if it could be our "last chance to see"
doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Do you have a (hand)axe to grind? Antiquity publishes debate pieces on contentious issues to stimulate #archaeology discussion 🏺

Find out more and submit an #AntiquityDebate here: antiquity.ac.uk/submit

Part of Hadrian's Wall. A relatively low stone wall snakes across a hilly green landscape under a grey, clouded sky.

What influence do historic borders have on modern politics? Explore how the idea of Hadrian's Wall has influenced discourse surrounding the US/Mexico border in an #AntiquityDebate 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 2/2

Beyond the bluestones: links between distant monuments in Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland Recent research has considered the relationship between Stonehenge and sites in south-west Wales, raising questions about whether the first monument at Stonehenge copied the form of an earlier stone circle at Waun Mawn and how the relationship between these sites was connected with the transport of bluestones between the different regions. But Stonehenge and Waun Mawn are not the only prehistoric sites in Britain and Ireland that share architectural elements and hint at social connections across vast distances of land and sea. This debate article explains how the questions raised about these Late Neolithic monuments can and should be applied to other monumental complexes to explore this insular phenomenon.

Stonehenge's connections likely go even further than this, however. Check out an #AntiquityDebate from 2024, which explores Neolithic connections across the whole of Britain and Ireland 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

How have young people learned and gained new skills throughout time? #WorldYouthSkillsDay
In prehistory, knowledge was transferred from teachers to learners over generations, often resulting in more thorough, in-depth mastery 🏺

Learn more in this #AntiquityDebate 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Title, authors and abstract of the article.

Anthropological and archaeometric methods have greatly benefitted pre-Qin archaeology, revealing the depth of Chinese prehistory, but how can we encourage the adoption of these techniques for post-Qin research? 2/2

Find out in this #AntiquityDebate (£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Do you have a (hand)axe to grind? Antiquity publishes debate pieces on contentious issues to stimulate discussion 🏺

Find out more and submit an #AntiquityDebate here: antiquity.ac.uk/submit

Representation of at least three generations of a larger paternal lineage, in burials from Haunstetten Postillionstraße in southern Germany, late third to early second millennia BC.

How were cultural practices passed down in the past? #NationalTeacherDay
R. Alexander Bentley & Michael J. O'Brien explore whether cultural evolution was intentional or inherited in a recent #AntiquityDebate 🏺

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Cultural evolution as inheritance, not intentions | Antiquity | Cambridge Core Cultural evolution as inheritance, not intentions - Volume 98 Issue 401

Human evolution was not just biological, but also cultural. Cultural practices such as kinship, wealth, subsistence and access to resources are passed from generation to generation, but how do they change over time?

Find out in our recent #AntiquityDebate 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Repatriation, whilst often beneficial for all stakeholders, can be a complex undertaking. Exploring case studies of positive restitution indicates proactive engagement with claims is essential to its success. #AntiquityDebate

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Map of find locations of a specific Bronze Age sword type and the origin of Bronze Age ornament sets recovered in Denmark, and how it has been interpreted as indicating the movement of women as marriage partners.

NEW The archaeological record is incomplete and researchers cannot know what is missing. Does uncertainty empower us to imagine and work towards a better future?

@cjfrieman.bsky.social explores the archaeology of possibility in our #AntiquityDebate 1/2

🆓 buff.ly/49BcyGr