The discovery of the Oranjemund Shipwreck (Bom Jesus) in 2008 on the Namibian coast represents one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most significant maritime archaeological finds. This early sixteenth-century Portuguese merchantman yielded a remarkably diverse cargo, including copper ingots, ivory tusks, gold coins, and various artifacts. However, the rescue excavation and subsequent conservation efforts revealed numerous challenges that threaten the long-term preservation of this underwater cultural heritage. This study critically examines the vulnerabilities affecting rescue excavations and post-excavation conservation through qualitative analysis of interviews with key personnel involved in the project, document analysis, and photographic evidence. Findings reveal critical challenges across three phases: excavation (environmental conditions, technical failures, leadership conflicts, ad hoc conservation expertise); post-excavation curation (inadequate facilities, severe understaffing, accessibility issues); and long-term conservation (absence of permanent conservators, resource limitations, progressive deterioration of artifacts). Photographic evidence demonstrates that some artifacts remain in initial desalination phases more than a decade post-excavation, while copper ingots show progressive corrosion threatening epigraphic evidence, as does ivory. The study proposes recommendations, including establishing national protocols for rescue excavations, developing expertise databases, constructing appropriate conservation facilities, establishing permanent conservator positions, and implementing sustainable financing mechanisms. These findings contribute to maritime archaeological practice in resource-constrained contexts and underscore the need for sustained institutional commitment to underwater cultural heritage preservation.
The Soča Front represented a multiethnic, multicultural, and multifaith conflict landscape, where soldiers of different nationalities and religions fought in 1915–17. The Austro-Hungarian army was required to provide religious care for its soldiers, who were predominantly of Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. A unique manifestation of this was a military mosque, built for the Muslim soldiers of the fourth Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry Regiment that fought on Mt Rombon and in the Bovec area of the Upper Soča Valley. Archaeological research has revealed well-preserved remains of the mosque and provided important information about the construction process of the wooden mosque. As an additional reminder of the presence of Muslim soldiers of the Fourth Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry Regiment, the mosque site itself may also serve a commemorative role in the future, following the listing into the Register of Immovable Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and awaiting plans for possible future presentation of the remains in the field.
The vanguard of local- and state-level implementation of neoliberal policies within the United States was in a region known as the Sunbelt. This article examines people’s real-world experiences of the precocious implementation of local neoliberalism in the mid- to late-twentieth century within the last residential section of Portland Tract in Phoenix, Arizona, a quintessential Sunbelt city. Portland Tract was an early twentieth-century development in Maricopa County initial targeting middle-class Black households, which was annexed by the City of Phoenix in 1954. Following this annexation, the Tract was rezoned to light industrial and ultimately, largely demolished to make way for the expansion of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor airport by the early twenty-first century. Only a small section of Portland Tract, which comprises our study area, remained residential until 1975 when the City of Phoenix purchased the lots for inclusion in the S’eḏav Va’aki Museum grounds. Using a combination of archaeological and historical methods, we analyze the lives of the residents of this section of Portland Tract showing that those who lived in this area had to and did find ways of make do as best they could, all while they and their neighborhood were the targets of and negatively impacted by the Postwar neoliberal pollical-economic policies and practices of the City of Phoenix.
This article presents the preliminary results of an archaeological study conducted at the Velho Rocio cemetery, a rural funerary landscape located in the town of Matos Costa, in the northcentral region of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, linked by local traditions to the Contestado War (1912–16). Drawing on fieldwork carried out in July 2025 and the systematic analysis of death records from the district of Matos Costa, digitized and accessed via the FamilySearch platform, we argue that Velho Rocio is not simply a passive vestige of the past. Combining these lines of evidence made it possible to identify the site documentarily, to partially reconstruct the population interred there between 1910 and 1943, to document specific devotional practices within the local community across generations, and to record active ritual interventions that confirm the ongoing vitality of those devotions to the present day. The theoretical framework draws on Criado Boado’s (1999) landscape archaeology, Tilley’s (1994) phenomenology of landscape, Koselleck’s (2001) notion of strata of time, and Derrida’s (1994) concept of spectrality to analyze the temporal multidimensionality of the site — a landscape where distinct layers of time coexist without displacing one another. In a region where Afro-descendant presence is systematically minimized by dominant historical discourse, Velho Rocio emerges as a material archive of memories that communities have continued to transmit for over a century.
Innovation and adaptability can flourish during periods of prolonged seclusion and separation. This paper explores the intersections of isolation, innovation, and connectivity through the winter house tradition, an occasionally derided but necessary practice for many early modern settlers in Newfoundland and Labrador. Discussions are woven around themes of architecture, resource extraction, provisioning strategies, consumption, reuse/repair, leisure, and knowledge transfer. The archaeological remains from winter house sites form the basis of these discussions but are episodically intertwined with the writings of Edward Wix, who, in 1835, chronicled his journey across parts of the island of Newfoundland between winter and early summer.
This study examines Bombon, Camarines Sur, in comparison with Intramuros and the Old Kiyyangan Village (OKV), to track long-term interaction and community practice from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Ceramic distributions, stratigraphic sequences, and mortuary data from Bombon are analyzed alongside imported-ware datasets from Intramuros and OKV to identify differences in colonial engagement, exchange, and local decision making. Bombon shows a peak in imported ceramics in the late precolonial period, followed by reduced participation during the Spanish period, contrasting with Intramuros’ full integration into colonial exchange and OKV’s locally controlled expansion of trade during early Spanish intrusions. Mortuary evidence at Bombon indicates continuity in community practice across precolonial and colonial phases, with selective adoption of Christian forms. Using a Transitional Nodal Network Model, the study frames the three sites as nodes with distinct historical trajectories shaped by shifting political, economic, and religious contexts. The comparison highlights how communities across the Philippines navigated Spanish colonial structures through varying forms of incorporation, negotiation, and internal cohesion.
The Convoy of the Thirty-Five (Lamed-Heh), whose members were killed while attempting to reach the besieged Gush Etzion bloc on January 15–16, 1948, occupies a central place in Israeli collective memory. However, despite extensive historical and commemorative scholarship, the material remains of the battlefield itself have received no systematic archaeological investigation. This article presents the results of a four-year program of battlefield and landscape archaeology study conducted at Hill N.G. 573 ("Battle Hill") and its immediate surroundings, focusing on the final phase of the engagement fought on and around the summit. This study, to the best of our knowledge, constitutes the first systematic archaeological case study of a specific battle from the first phase (November 29, 1947- May 14, 1948) of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Framed within historical and conflict archaeology, the research integrates high-resolution drone-based photogrammetry, GIS analysis, targeted excavation, systematic metal-detector survey, and forensic examination of selected artifacts. Spatial patterning of small-arms ammunition, grenade components, and personal items reveals a clustered defensive deployment centered on a stone enclosure and adjacent shallow ground hollow identified in historical testimony as casualties' collection point. Several firing positions occupied by riflemen and machine gunners can be reconstructed, together with probable directions of enemy assault. Particular attention is given to a bullet-damaged brass compass recovered with Bren light machine-gun cartridge cases at a tactically significant position. Forensic analysis, combined with spatial reconstruction and later testimonial evidence, suggests that this location may correspond to the final position of the platoon commander, Dani Mass. Treated cautiously, this convergence of archaeological, spatial, and testimonial data demonstrates how material evidence can refine and complicate historical narratives and highlights the contribution of historical archaeology to the study of modern conflict.
The study of Colonial-period archaeological sites in Argentina currently constitutes a heterogeneous field of research, composed of an array of projects with diverse objectives, theoretical approaches, scales of analysis, and degrees of development. This article presents a review and critical synthesis of the development of Argentine colonial archaeology, organized around the central research themes addressed from a historical perspective. Among other theoretical debates, it examines the shift from essentialist and Eurocentric approaches characteristic of colonial discourse toward perspectives that prioritize the agency of subaltern populations. It also emphasizes the weight of local contexts within global trajectories and the complex entanglements that configured colonialism in South America.
In the nineteenth century, the sealing industry in the South Shetland Islands targeted fur seals for their skins and elephant seals for their oil. Yet, unlike fur sealing, elephant sealing in the region has received limited scholarly attention—particularly regarding its material dimensions. This article examines the equipment used in elephant seal exploitation, highlighting the potential of outfitting lists as sources for archaeological research. The analysis focuses on the outfitting list of the American schooner Golden West, which visited the South Shetlands in 1873–74 and returned with elephant seal oil and other animal products. The study evaluates the diversity and abundance of tools taken aboard for elephant sealing, compares them with the gear used in fur sealing and whaling, and explores the relationship among these activities. It also discusses how the availability of elephant sealing tools may have shaped sealing crews’ exploitation strategies and the material traces they left behind.
This article explores the barriers to reclaiming and preserving Indigenous narratives in historic archives, focusing on the narrative case study of an Aboriginal woman (here a Kuruma woman, Sarah) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia (ca.1880-ca.1950). Barriers obstructed identification of, and access to, materials in archival collections, highlighting persistent challenges faced by researchers and Aboriginal community members. These included limited documentation, bureaucratic hurdles, and preservation issues, often exacerbated by copyright policies and institutional restrictions. Analysis reveals that access to historical documentation on Indigenous histories is still frequently obstructed, despite descendant communities being the (co)applicants of what are effectively family histories. This study provides further evidence of “New Protectionism,” whereby restrictive access policies inhibit Indigenous communities and researchers from reclaiming cultural narratives. This article suggests reform in archival policies, reflects on the implications for future research and heritage preservation, and highlights the role of archival research in Aboriginal archaeological practice. The integration of documentary sources into archaeological inquiry enables a more comprehensive understanding of Indigenous histories, reinforcing the discipline’s commitment to ethical research and collaborative knowledge production.
In this article, we seek to understand how the sixteenth-century church in the town of San Miguel Xaltocan was interpreted and understood by the town’s Indigenous inhabitants by integrating archaeological, architectural, and historical evidence. We ask how this space was ascribed meaning by Xaltocan’s inhabitants and what can we learn about the relationship between villagers and the church in the colonial period. In the early sixteenth century, pre-Hispanic temples and religious architecture were systematically demolished and replaced with stone churches, usually recycling the stone from the demolished pre-Hispanic temple, which is often interpreted as a continued form of subjugation and domination. However, our understandings of religious conversion and evangelization in Mexico derive largely from historical documents from urban areas. Xaltocan, located in the northern Basin of Mexico, was once a powerful regional center in the Postclassic Period, but it declined in importance following its incorporation into the Mexica (Aztec) Empire. During the colonial period, it was a rural town focused on fishing and salt making and was largely outside of direct Spanish observation. The study of material culture in conjunction with church inscriptions and historical evidence from Xaltocan can offer an alternate narrative by providing insight into Indigenous activities, perspectives, and strategies in the face of oppressive domination in a small community.
This study analyzes material evidence from the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill in the Brazilian Amazon to clarify the socioeconomic structure of plantation life in the nineteenth century. By combining archaeological and historical sources, the research highlights pronounced differences in how glass objects were used by planters versus the enslaved individuals. Luxury items like wine bottles and decorative pieces were mainly linked to the planter class, demonstrating their wealth and status, while more utilitarian items appeared in the areas inhabited by enslaved individuals, reflecting restricted access to high-end goods. The work also addresses the repurposing of bottles, offering insights into consumption patterns and recycling practices of the era. Importantly, it presents a detailed examination of intentionally knapped tools from the slave quarters interior, especially the most complete example, as evidence of technological adaptation and resourcefulness among the enslaved. These findings enhance our understanding of plantation archaeology by shedding light on everyday life and social dynamics within this historical setting.
During the nineteenth century, the Ute people of Colorado and Utah used the cambium of the ponderosa pine for medicine and food. To access this inner layer, Native Americans peeled away the tree’s outer bark, creating a scar on the stem. Today, many of these scars remain visible and these culturally modified trees (CMTs) can provide information about Native American resource use. In this paper, nearly 160 CMTs from Joes Valley, Utah, are documented and studied. It is likely that this is the largest concentration of ponderosa CMTs in the state. The results indicate that the practice of peeling occurred during a turbulent time of dislocation for the Utes.
Some historical archaeologists work in places colonized by countries whose language is other than that spoken by the researcher. Many of these projects have not consulted the relevant foreign-language literature, which could provide additional context for interpreting their findings. Predictive AI offers the unique advantage of rapidly accessing, translating, and synthesizing foreign language sources that may otherwise remain inaccessible due to language barriers. The following is an example of a little known international labor tragedy that occurred in northeastern Pennsylvania in 1897, when immigrant coal miners went on strike for better pay and working conditions. At least 19 men were killed and 38 wounded, and most of the victims were citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Much of the incident and its aftermath have been reconstructed using English-language newspapers, court records, and oral histories. Due to language barriers, scholars have not examined how the victims' home countries recorded and perceived the incident. Using predictive AI enables researchers to create workable translations of these perspectives with a level of speed and scale previously unattainable, broadening the historical context of this incident. This approach provides an example for others whose work spans international boundaries and languages.
The commercialization of agriculture in the nineteenth-century northern United States represents the foundational period for many rural American communities. It created the family-farm-as-business model that became the backbone of the agricultural economy for the next 100 years. However, it was not a monolithic movement. The timing, strategies, and causes varied between communities, and sometimes even between farms. Using archival, historical, and archaeological data, this work explores the interaction of community identities and values, environment, landscape, climate, and national economic trends in influencing when, how, and why farmers in Madison County, New York commercialized.
Modern societies sought to control their populations through programs of mass education and surveillance. The origins of this practice had roots in Europe, but were quickly exported to colonial contexts around the world, including the Pacific Islands. While schooling and surveillance are currently often associated with state institutions, historically Christian missions were also critical to the spread of these phenomena in colonized territories. In the territory that became French Polynesia, the first permanent Catholic missionaries arrived in the Mangareva Islands beginning in 1834. Archaeological survey and excavations focusing on the building program of the missionaries has documented an extensive landscape of nineteenth-century stone buildings constructed both by missionary frères bâtisseurs (builder-brothers) and Mangarevan converts. Included among these buildings are several watch towers facing inward among the islands in the lagoon, and separate boys’ and girls’ school compounds in the islands of Aukena and Mangareva. The spatial organization and materiality of these spaces demonstrate the use of techniques of surveillance and schooling to attempt to control the Mangarevan population, including socializing male and female students for expected gendered roles in Christian society.
In this article, we present a new research project in development that applies historical and archaeological methods to examine labor in colonial Parramatta, Australia. Established in November 1788, Parramatta is the third-oldest British colonial settlement in the former colony of New South Wales, Australia. Over 40 years of heritage research and large-scale archaeological excavations have documented much of Parramatta’s early history. However, due to the usual constraints of developer-funded projects, most of this work has remained focused on individual sites. Here, we examine some approaches for landscape-scale synthesis of evidence relating to colonial Parramatta. The research uses archival holdings to unravel the spatial networks of people and things that crossed lot boundaries, forming economic and relational webs that sustained the settler-colonial township (both convict and free). Informed by the relational approaches of both cultural (new) histories of capitalism and new materialism(s), this project functions at the scale of the town and its surrounding district. We seek to lay the foundations for further work using individuals to connect places within the landscape, to follow the movement of materials, and to trace the products and processes of labor.
This article examines the colonial experience in the highlands of the Governorate of Tucumán, Viceroyalty of Peru (sixteenth–eighteenth centuries). Drawing on archaeology of colonialism as a critical discourse grounded in empirical evidence, we revisit interpretations of the Puna as a marginal refuge and its historical continuity. By integrating written documentation and archaeological contexts from Puna households at Punta de la Peña (Quebrada del río Las Pitas, Antofagasta de la Sierra, Argentina), we explore Hispanic-Indigenous relations. Analysis of domestic spaces reveals a locally rooted mode of production that subordinates foreign material goods to local logics, evidencing agency and asymmetric negotiation.
In this article we present the methods and preliminary results of the archaeological survey of the Malvinas/Falklands War (1982) battlefields. Our research specifically focuses on Longdon and Tumbledown mounts, two sites of the most intense clashes between Argentine and British military forces. This is the first archaeological survey carried out by Argentine researchers on these British-administered islands. The main goal of this study was to address the complexity of these battles by comparatively reconstructing along two main research lines: logistics and command. To contribute to this general goal from an archaeological perspective, we employed an integrative approach that combined remote sensing and ground surveys. The use of remote sensing techniques, with aerial and satellite imagery as well drone-capture photographs, allowed us to maximize terrain coverage, including areas inaccessible to ground surveyed. The archaeological mapping of the battlefields aimed to record and georeference structures, features and artifacts related to war events in a non-intrusive manner. We used Geographic Information System (GIS) for data storage, spatial analysis, and visual representation of the information obtained through remote sensing and fieldwork. Additionally, published war diaries, as well as information resulting from interviews with war veterans provided essential contextual data,enabling a more nuanced evaluation of the findings and spatial patterns identified on-site. The study of the battles of Mount Longdon and Mount Tumbledown from this perspective not only deepened our understanding of these highly significant historical events, but also allowed us to assess the impact of various natural and human processes on the preservation of archaeological records at these historically significant places.
Melaka’s history is informed largely by textual sources, and its archaeological data underutilized. Nevertheless, the latter may complement the former, challenge past assumptions, and enrich our knowledge of Melaka’s past. In this paper, earthenware from two Melakan sites were analyzed to determine their provenance. Although earthenware is usually assumed to be locally produced, the assemblages were found to contain nonlocal earthenware. Whilst the written records hardly mention earthenware, they provide clues regarding their presence in Melaka, and the way they were transported. This demonstrates, therefore, the way textual and archaeological sources may be used together to illuminate Melaka’s history.
