Abstract La Hoguette and Limburg pottery and the role their producers played in the Neolithization of western Central Europe are still a matter of debate. These styles exist in parallel to Linearbandkeramik (LBK) but are different from LBK pottery and here called Non-LBK wares. The various Non-LBK styles are mainly defined based on decoration, but this does not coincide with important technological features. Therefore, an technological approach including the parameters of temper, vessel morphology, and firing methods was used for an alternative classification and to trace knowledge transmission networks. It is suggested that several technologically distinguishable Non-LBK pottery traditions of different geographical origins existed contemporaneously in western Central Europe. While the early mineral- and organic-tempered ware shows some similarities with the Earliest and Early LBK, the widespread early bone-tempered pottery with its uniform design cannot be traced back to either Cardial or LBK pottery. This is probably the oldest pottery in western Central Europe. This means that here pottery emerged first as a tradition outside both the LBK and Cardial cultures. Increasing interaction between producers of various Non-LBK wares and LBK pottery makers can then be traced over several centuries. All styles are shown to be diverse and dynamic and to be undergoing substantial internal development. The persistent mutual influencing is a key for understanding the development of Non-LBK pottery, as well as for innovations within LBK ceramic production. Here, a hypothesis is proposed that the makers of Non-LBK wares may be hunter-gatherers, although this cannot currently be proven.

Abstract When the first farmers landed on the eastern coast of the Italian peninsula (end of seventh millennium cal BC), they brought with them a system of knowledge and technologies that quickly spread along both the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. The study of the material culture, therefore, assumes an important role in understanding the social and cultural identity of these incoming groups. Analyses of ornament production – involving manufacture technology, raw materials, and stylistic choices – may supply information about the cultural choices and the technical skills of human groups and shed light on the social and symbolic system of these ancient populations. Data obtained from this work show that the ornaments became symbols of a growing cultural identity, which began to be developed within Italian territory. In the ornamental assemblages of the newcomers, the relevance of shaped lithic items is clearly visible, and there was the development of types that will become more and more standardized during the Neolithic period. However, elements in the symbolic culture of these first settlers, such as the use of Columbella rustica and the exclusive production of hard animal matter ornaments in some sites, recall previous traditions. This study intends to extend our knowledge on the ornamental customs of the first Italian Neolithic communities. It will attempt to establish if the chronological and the geographical differences that emerge from our analyses reflect diversities in the cultural and symbolic systems of the incoming farmers and different possible interactions with the native population.

Abstract In this article, we study the role played by pottery production in the transition from Early Neolithic to Middle Neolithic in Western Iberia (∼4500–3300 cal BC) based on a critical analysis of the available empirical data. We establish a chronological and cultural sequence for this period, regarding which the historical problematic is still poorly defined due to a lasting absence of scientific discussion about the long Neolithisation process. During the evolved Early Neolithic (∼5200–4500 cal BC), archeological record shows regional specificities and cultural identities in human groups occupying a vast territory. Pottery collections evidence the strong social importance of decorative grammars, marked by a wide variety of techniques and decorative patterns. In quantitative terms, decorated vessels largely prevail over undecorated vessels. However, in the following chrono-cultural phase, the Initial Middle Neolithic (∼4500–3700 cal BC), it starts an increasing prevalence of undecorated vessels over decorated. Decorative systems prefer the incision technique to impression (dominant in the Early Neolithic). Recurrent use of an incised motif called incised line below the rim. In this period, this type of decoration prevails in the set of decorated pottery and is found in different geographic contexts. This adds consistency to the interpretation according to which the same artifact collections are found in all settlements of the initial Middle Neolithic. Finally, by the time of the first-known Megalithic burials – Full Moment of the Middle Neolithic (3700–3300 cal BC) – the decorative grammars almost disappear from pottery sets, which became more “common” and missed some of their symbolic and social meaning. Undecorated vessels prevail even more strongly than in the previous period.

Abstract Technological analysis of variations in blade production and the flow of siliceous raw materials revealed new understandings of different types of socio-economic functioning on a supra-regional scale. In this article, we are focusing on supra-regional relationships between technical groups and the social dynamics involved in early Neolithic mobility within the communities of East Belgium. A detailed technological analysis was done to highlight discrete characteristics that permit the identification of distinct technical groups within the village of Vaux-et-Borset. Four technical groups have been identified in the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain village, whereas two technical groups have been highlighted for the previous Linear Pottery culture (LPC) occupation. The search for the origin of the different technical groups was to understand the micro-processes of Neolithization in East Belgium. A central area with a high-density population during the pioneer LPC colonization, Hesbaye became a peripheral occupation area of the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture. This fringe territory seemed to attract neighbouring communities in different ways. Multidirectional dynamics seems to characterize this small territory leading to the coexistence of a high diversity of technical groups.

Abstract The transition to agriculture in northern Europe around 4000 BC presents an unresolved question. Explanations have vacillated between the adoption of Neolithic things and practices by indigenous foragers to the displacement of Mesolithic populations by immigrant farmers. The goal of this article is to articulate some thoughts on this process. First, it would have been necessary to introduce food production practices, by acculturation or immigration, to disrupt not only the forager economy but also their values of sharing and social relations. The use of milk for dairy products is a prime candidate for such a disruptive technology. The attraction of Neolithic ways may have been initially concealed from others, and only the realization of their widespread appeal caused fellow foragers to change their preferences. Second, it was necessary for foragers to commit to these changes and for the changed values to spread through mechanisms of social contagion. Immigrant farmers may have been especially influential in this regard, with increased sedentism and interaction being catalysts for completing the transition to agriculture.

Abstract This article presents an overview of the current evidence on the process of Neolithisation in the Dutch wetlands. Over the years, several models have been proposed with different perspectives on the timing and pace of the process: a long transition, an early short transition, and a late short transition. The applicability of any of these models is, of course, dependent of the evidence. In this article, we briefly discuss recently obtained data from the Netherlands on vegetation disturbance (woodland clearing), soil disturbance (tillage), cereal cultivation, animal husbandry, and the use of ceramics. The data discussed involve palynological, sedimentary, micromorphological, archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, as well as lipid analyses. Hence, it is concluded that from the mid fifth millennium cal. BC onwards, various aspects of a more “Neolithic lifestyle” become apparent in the archaeological record, including cereal cultivation on a structural, but small-scale basis in wetland environments. However, despite the “gradual” tendency that can be observed, the evidence is as yet inconclusive with regard to any of the models, due to persisting limitations of the datasets, potential regional variability, and aspects of scale. A new project, the Emergence of Domestic Animals in the Netherlands (EDAN), aims at a better understanding of animal husbandry through aDNA and isotope analyses, within a framework of statistical chronological modelling. We expect this project to enhance the debate greatly.

Abstract Museums have been increasingly investing in their digital presence. This became more pressing during the COVID-19 pandemic since heritage institutions had, on the one hand, to temporarily close their doors to visitors while, on the other, find ways to communicate their collections to the public. Virtual tours, revamped websites, and 3D models of cultural artefacts were only a few of the means that museums devised to create alternative ways of digital engagement and counteract the physical and social distancing measures. Although 3D models and collections provide novel ways to interact, visualise, and comprehend the materiality and sensoriality of physical objects, their mediation in digital forms misses essential elements that contribute to (virtual) visitor/user experience. This article explores three-dimensional digitisations of museum artefacts, particularly problematising their aura and authenticity in comparison to their physical counterparts. Building on several studies that have problematised these two concepts, this article establishes an exploratory framework aimed at evaluating the experience of aura and authenticity in 3D digitisations. This exploration allowed us to conclude that even though some aspects of aura and authenticity are intrinsically related to the physicality and materiality of the original, 3D models can still manifest aura and authenticity, as long as a series of parameters, including multimodal contextualisation, interactivity, and affective experiences are facilitated.

Abstract This paper presents our ongoing work in the Virtual Interiors project, which aims to develop 3D reconstructions as geospatial interfaces to structure and explore historical data of seventeenth-century Amsterdam. We take the reconstruction of the entrance hall of the house of the patrician Pieter de Graeff (1638–1707) as our case study and use it to illustrate the iterative process of knowledge creation, sharing, and discovery that unfolds while creating, exploring and experiencing the 3D models in a prototype research environment. During this work, an interdisciplinary dataset was collected, various metadata and paradata were created to document both the sources and the reasoning process, and rich contextual links were added. These data were used as the basis for creating a user interface for an online research environment, taking design principles and previous user studies into account. Knowledge is shared by visualizing the 3D reconstructions along with the related complexities and uncertainties, while the integration of various underlying data and Linked Data makes it possible to discover contextual knowledge by exploring associated resources. Moreover, we outline how users of the research environment can add annotations and rearrange objects in the scene, facilitating further knowledge discovery and creation.

Abstract A key development in archaeology is the increasing agency of the digital tools brought to bear on archaeological practice. Roles and tasks that were previously thought to be uncomputable are beginning to be digitalized, and the presumption that computerization is best suited to well-defined and restricted tasks is starting to break down. Many of these digital devices seek to reduce routinized and repetitive work in the office environment and in the field. Others incorporate data-driven methods to represent, store, and manipulate information in order to undertake tasks previously thought to be incapable of being automated. Still others substitute the human component in environments which would be otherwise be inaccessible or dangerous. Whichever applies, separately or in combination, such technologies are typically seen as black-boxing practice with often little or no human intervention beyond the allocation of their inputs and subsequent incorporation of their outputs in analyses. This paper addresses the implications of this shift to algorithmic automated practices for archaeology and asks whether there are limits to algorithmic agency within archaeology. In doing so, it highlights several challenges related to the relationship between archaeologists and their digital devices.

Abstract We carried out a full-coverage survey of the Yautepec Valley in the 1990s to reconstruct demography and settlements and their changes through time. We investigated the extent to which well-documented developments in the adjacent Basin of Mexico were paralleled in Yautepec, as well as the impact of regional empires and economies on local society. Our analyses focused on Teotihuacan relations in the Classic period and relations with the Aztec empire and the Mesoamerican world system in the Middle and Late Postclassic periods. In addition to locating, mapping, and describing sites and taking grab-bag artifact collections, we also made a series of systematic intensive surface collections (5 × 5 m) and test excavations at samples of Classic and Postclassic sites. In this paper, we describe the survey and changing settlement patterns in the Yautepec Valley. We also present several analyses of changing patterns of urbanization through the Prehispanic era. We conclude with a synthesis of changing social and cultural dynamics in this region.