Important aspects of craft organisation, such as standardisation and artisanal skill, are encoded into the final shape of ceramic vessels. Here, the authors present a quantitative method for assessing inter-/intra-vessel morphological variation using metrics and geometric morphometrics obtained from 3D models and open-source software. Within the wider framework presented, novel analyses that assess rotational symmetry and intra-vessel variation by virtual slicing have the potential to reveal idiosyncratic motor habits of individual potters within communities of practice. Application of this approach is demonstrated through a comparison of vessels from three pre-Hispanic Colombian ware traditions, revealing meaningful patterns in vessel variability.

Concepts such as cost, value, skill, complexity, and quality are central to archaeological interpretations of material culture, yet often they remain undefined, resulting in subjective and inconsistent analyses. This is particularly true in archaeological textile studies, where technological complexity, cost, and craftsmanship are frequently underexplored or assessed informally. This paper proposes a formal method for evaluating and comparing the production of archaeological textiles, using complexity and quality as proxies for skill and cost. Drawing on sociology, economics, and material culture studies, we argue that value is context-dependent, shaped by both intrinsic properties of objects and cultural frameworks. Skill involves embodied knowledge and culturally informed standards of what constitutes a ‘well-made’ artefact. To operationalise these concepts, we integrate the chaîne opératoire with a colour-coded matrix and comparative diagrams inspired by Kuijpers’ work on metallurgical skill (2018b, 2018c). These visual tools enhance transparency, interpretation, and reproducibility across case studies. We apply this method to five types of pre-Hispanic cotton mantas woven by the Muisca and Guane of Colombia’s Eastern Highlands, and a further comparative set from the southern Nariño department. The analysis identifies both shared and variable features that reflect differences in complexity, quality, and labour investment. Correlations among variables reveal forms of labour organisation and social constraints. Our visualisation tools highlight patterns within and across textile assemblages. By making the technical aspects explicit, this formal approach enables better comparison, reduces bias, and fosters more nuanced understandings of craft organisation, skilled labour and complexity in past technologies. (For an extended summary of this paper in Spanish, see Supplementary Materials).

This paper celebrates a double occasion as 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Archaeological Science as well as the year when Robin Torrence retired after 12 years leading the journal as Co-editor in Chief. It is organized in three parts. The retrospective traces the field's trajectory through a bibliometric review, showing the steady dominance of isotopic analysis, the later rise of computational, remote-sensing, 3D and legacy-data approaches, and the growing impact of imaging and biomolecular techniques (including the recent emergence of palaeoproteomics), alongside enduring strengths in archaeobotany, zooarchaeology and archaeological materials analysis. The most recent decade has been marked by broader thematic diversification and more balanced representation of papers that focus on methodological novelty and those that tackle important archaeological questions using established methods. The second part outlines the papers in this anniversary volume, which largely exemplify these trends. These papers offer regional reviews on the evolution of archaeological scientific approaches in different parts of the world, present methodological advances, and stress the need for rigorous statistics, transparent and reproducible workflows, multi-proxy designs and contextualized interpretations. At the same time, the persistent under-representation of authors from the Global South underscores that scientific maturity must be matched by structural reform. The final part presents the editors' vision for the future of the field, centered on interdisciplinarity, ethical collaborations, infrastructural restructuring to foster integrative practice, emphasis both on grand themes and small-scale exploratory work, and commitment to open, reproducible and transparent science, engaging productively with heritage science and the wider society.

Bronze was essential to the sustenance of prehistoric polities in China, even in metal-poor regions which had to rely on trade. However, raw materials and styles were not always transferred as a single package. This study presents an archaeometallurgical analysis (metallography, elemental, and lead isotope analyses) of 13 bronzes (771 BCE–220 CE) from Wanzhou, Chongqing, exploring the long-term material supply networks of this resource-poor region. Results indicate a sustained, high degree of dependence on external metal. During the Warring States period, Ba bronzes primarily utilised lead from the Nanling Mountains and western Henan (Chu cultural sphere). In the Han dynasty, lead sources shifted towards centrally controlled western Henan, alongside the first identification of highly radiogenic lead from Zhaotong, Yunnan. We propose that the Ba region likely engaged in a “dual economic strategy”: leveraging their geopolitical advantage in salt and cinnabar to acquire external metal raw materials and finished Chu goods. However, Ba artisans did not adopt Chu’s forging techniques for local cooking vessels, retaining traditional casting. This choice reflects a conservative tendency to maintain cultural boundaries and ethnic identity despite material dependency, illustrating how the Ba bronze industry was embedded within a broader, resource-driven political economy.

The ‘material turn’ within the humanities has provided new possibilities for investigating historical technologies, and the chaîne opératoire offers a powerful framework for such research. Taking the history of printing as research arena, we present the first science-based study of typographic punches, focusing on the 18th-century collection manufactured by John Baskerville in Birmingham. By combining typology, microscopy, µCT, radiography and FTIR, with craftspeople's knowledge and historical sources, we reverse engineer the chaîne opératoire deployed to produce these tools. We characterise the technological tradition followed in Baskerville’s workshop and compare it to 19th/20th-century punch-making. Baskerville’s workshop was very versatile, and technological choices took into account performance factors and high craftsmanship standards. Many of the recorded choices are not described in 16th- and 17th-century punch-making texts. This reference study presents a chapter of the history of printing previously unexplored through material culture, and provides the method and theoretical framework for others.

While the bronze metalworking traditions of ancient Iran are well-known, a growing body of data is revealing the role and extent of brass usage in this region. Brass objects are well-documented in neighbouring Roman/ Byzantine and, to a lesser extent, Central Asian communities of the first millennium CE, but almost nothing is known about brass use in the Sasanian empire. This, however, is a key region and period for understanding the process of innovation and adoption of brass that would culminate in its widespread use in the subsequent Islamic period. Scientific investigation of finds from archaeological excavations offers the opportunity to enhance our understanding of Sasanian metalworking. In this paper, we examine archaeological evidence for Sasanian brass from two famous settlements at opposite ends of the empire - the north-east regional capital of Merv in Khurasan (present-day Turkmenistan) and the ancient city of Nineveh in northern Iraq. These draw on recent excavations and old museum collections respectively, using stratigraphic and typological evidence to date the pieces in question. Combining XRF and SEM-EDS compositional analyses and radiography, we show the Sasanian utilisation of brass in both cast and sheet form for both decorative and military functions, alongside continuing bronze traditions. We distinguish early cast forms driven by probable colour considerations from sheet forms that leverage both the material and materiality advantages of brass. We also reflect on the possible role and importance of brass for Sasanian military metalworking, as a working hypothesis for the investigation of both museum collections and future archaeological materials.

Overlapping signatures can make metal sourcing via lead isotope analysis challenging. Trying to overcome this problem, this study employs a hierarchical probabilistic provenance framework based on fuzzy C-means clustering and a multi-source probability attribution model. We analyse geological and archaeological lead isotope data of Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze artefacts excavated from the Guanzhong region, China. Multidimensional feature construction and improved clustering algorithms are used to probabilistically discriminate the ore sources and address long-standing hypotheses. The analyses reveal spatiotemporal trends: a multi-source pattern during the Shang dynasty, including local and distant sources; a transition towards the dominance of local Qinling resources during the Western Zhou period; and a high proportion of overlapping samples during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Within the Qinling region, the focus of mining activities is shown to have shifted dynamically from north to south and then eastwards. This research provides a quantifiable analytical framework for processing highly overlapping lead isotopic data. The outcomes offer a new scientific reference for exploring the evolution of the political and economic systems of the Shang and Zhou dynasties from the perspective of resource circulation, as well as a methodological approach with applications to other studies.

Pre-Hispanic societies of the Colombian Caribbean lowlands built raised field systems spanning over 500,000 hectares. Their re-adoption may offer a potential solution to modern-day water control in the region. Traditionally interpreted as evidence of large-scale projects requiring centralised planning and coordination, the labour organisation behind their construction is nevertheless not fully understood. To leverage archaeological knowledge in assessing potential for their re-adoption, we examine the function and labour input requirements of pre-Hispanic canal-ridge systems within a 500-hectare study area. Conservative estimates indicate the entire system could have been built by local inhabitants in a single dry season. Maintenance requirements were also modest, with full restoration once a generation requiring a few days annual labour. We conclude that the sheer scale of these systems cannot be taken as evidence of top-down control, and highlight the potential of low-cost, cooperative, sustainable approaches to water and land management in the Colombian Caribbean. Pre-Hispanic raised fields in the Colombian Caribbean were built and maintained with modest labour, implying cooperative, non-centralised organisation and offering low-cost water-control potential, according to analysis of canal–ridge function and labour inputs in La Mojana Region.

Brass is recognised to have a dominant role in Islamic metalworking, valued for its golden colour and versatility in cold working and ornamentation. However, the development and timing for this dominance - and its relationship with earlier Sasanian and Byzantine traditions - is yet to be fully explained. In addition, the continuity of bronze and other copper-base working in early Islamic metallurgy is evidence for the limits of brass adoption, whether reflecting the desire for different material properties or wider social, economic and political factors. In this paper, we present scientific analyses of 400 archaeological fragments from the important nintheleventh century CE Persian Gulf port city of Siraf. Through XRF compositional analyses, we elaborate on the nature and extent of brass use in the early Abbasid period, indicating the probable transition from prestige to practical application prior to this time. In addition, the dominance of low zinc alloys in a rich, well-connected settlement such as Siraf offers new perspectives on brass production and supply in this period, pointing to the intentional dilution of primary brass with copper. Further, through both compositional and metallographic investigation, we reveal a parallel use of high-tin beta bronze at the site - echoing both the appearance and performance of brass, but with important limitations that reveal nuances in alloy choice and perception.

Among the many spectacular finds associated with the mausoleum of China's First Emperor (259-210 BCE), by far the most well-known are the life-sized clay soldiers known as the Terracotta Army. However, also widely depicted in popular portrayals, and extremely important scientifically are two intricately made, half-sized bronze models, of a lighter chariot and a heavier two-wheeled cart. Among the huge number of components brought together to make these models, there are hundreds of gold and silver pieces, used on horse bridles and harnessing, as inlays in chariot canopy stands, and as decoration on an accompanying crossbow. This paper focuses attention on both the aesthetic and technological character of these gold and silver pieces. Via wider comparison with other gold ornaments from early Qin and wider contexts, we also explore knowledge transfer, technological change, and the growing appeal of gold in China during the Warring States Period. Detailed microscopic observations, digital microscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were all further used to complement our study of these chariot components. The results demonstrate that a traditional piece-mould casting method was employed to produce gold and silver buttons, tubes, plaques, and rings, which were joined using a series of exceptional assembling techniques to serve as functional components of the chariots. Compared to the forging, filigree, and granulation documented in early Qin goldwork, and typically assumed to denote a Western influence on Chinese metalwork, this casting technique seems more consistent with indigenous Chinese practices, as for example associated with the manipulation of bronze and iron.

The polymetallic origins and non-linear development of metallurgy have only relatively recently attracted more scholarly attention. Within this framework, the identification of three lead-smelting slag nodules in early second-millennium BC contexts at Minferri (Catalonia, Spain) provides what is currently the earliest direct evidence of lead smelting in Iberia. These materials are linked to previous indirect evidence of lead smelting in the area from the early third millennium BC. Despite the persistence of lead smelting across the Pyrenees in southern France, it was abandoned in north-east Iberia after the mid-second millennium BC, highlighting divergent sociotechnological pathways even in areas of close cultural contact.

Copper-tin bronzes can be obtained through different techniques (i.e. natural alloying, co-smelting, cementation, co-melting and recycling). This paper presents a methodology and theoretical framework to contextually explain the logic behind the selection of bronze alloying techniques in different contexts, avoiding deterministic, aprioristic and linear narratives. To do so, we selected Northeast Iberia as a case study and present comparative results of slag and slagged technical ceramics from four sites (Minferri, Vilars, Mas Castellar and Ullastret) dated between 2100-200BC. Materials were analysed using pXRF, OM, SEM-EDS, and ICP-MS to characterise technological choices through time. Patterns of choice are considered in relation to the technical affordances of each alloying technique and contextualised within the relevant environmental and socioeconomic parameters. The results show that bronze-making technique choices were primarily dependent on (1) the (in)stability of raw material procurement networks, and (2) the existent selective pressures on performance characteristics for which each technique offered different trade-offs. Discrete combinations of these two variables can explain instances of different techniques co-existing (e.g. Minferri, Mas Castellar, and Ullastret) and cases of commitment to a single one (e.g. Vilars).This is the first diachronic study of bronze alloying practices investigated through direct analyses of bronze-making residues for a given area. The analytical framework employed and the derived behavioural rules can be applied to other case studies to collectively build a multi-path history of bronze alloying development. This will be fundamental to understand the link between bronze alloying technique selection and social change, to better contextualise metal finds within their production and exchange networks, and to requestion existing models of bronze production organisation and technological diffusion across the world.

Chemical analyses of archaeological artefacts are often used for provenance studies and for assessing whether specific performance characteristics were targeted by craftspeople in the past. Traditionally, the answers to these questions were sought by identifying compositional averages and by studying their correlations with either the geochemical signatures of candidate raw material sources or the corresponding physical or chemical properties of the studied materials. However useful, this approach only exploits part of the potential information locked inside the chemical compositions of archaeological artefacts. We argue that different levels of compositional dispersion observed within and across archaeological assemblages, and in particular changes in them as a function of behaviourally meaningful factors (such as the size, function, or recovery location of the objects), are sources of information in themselves. To gain probabilistic insights into both types of variability (averages and dispersions) simultaneously, we introduce variable dispersion beta regression models for the archaeological sciences. In doing so, we show how adopting the beta distribution provides a significantly improved alternative to previous solutions to modelling compositional data within the field - namely, those involving simple linear regression on log-transformed data. These approaches often result in numerically impossible predictions, whilst beta regression restricts the model predictions between the upper and lower compositional bounds, accounts for the inherently inconsistent variances of compositional data, and explicitly permits the modelling of compositional dispersions as a function of covariates. Finally, we expand upon this toolset by showing how using a hierarchical model specification within the framework accounts for both local variation and more widely shared practices of material processing and procurement concurrently, and alleviates issues to do with sampling uncertainty. We demonstrate the proposed approach with a study of Muisca gold procurement practices (AD 600-1600) in the Eastern Highlands of Colombia, based on a dataset of 243 elemental analyses. The results allow us to argue for intra-regional movements of fresh geological gold imported from a variety of distant sources. We suggest these movements could result from contributions of gold by people converging into the same location for festivities. The approaches taken to modelling compositional data are readily applicable to other sub-disciplines of the archaeological sciences, such as compositional studies of ceramics and glass, or modelling the variability of diets in isotopic studies (see Supplementary Material S0 for an extended summary in Spanish).

Iron is something of a dichotomy in late prehistoric/early historic Mainland Southeast Asian studies. It is widely considered a substance capable of catalysing major changes in social complexity. Conversely, iron artefacts are rarely subjected to significant archaeological analysis and are generally assumed to be low value products available locally. In this paper we conduct full archaeometallurgical analysis to ancient primary iron production assemblages from Ban Kruat, Buriram Province, northeast Thailand. The attested iron production took place in a locality with extensive laterite deposits, long thought to be a source of iron. Archaeometric analysis of production remains indicates the strong likelihood that laterites were smelted to iron metal, using recipes and processes that seem to have varied little over centuries. However, as opposed to being the simple exploitation of immediately available resources, the Ban Kruat laterites were considerably richer in iron than the regional average and, furthermore, the direct bloomery reduction process employed by Ban Kruat smelters was being operated at its technical limits. To win iron from a marginal ore, the furnaces were necessarily run very hot and very reducing, which runs the risk of producing unusable cast iron, consumes vast quantities of fuel, and requires a huge labour input. Ban Kruat iron was anything but ‘cheap’. We propose that better/richer ore sources within 100–200 km were inaccessible, but such was the value of this strategic material, local populations would fulfil their iron needs at almost any cost.

Ancient Egyptian artefacts often feature an intriguing assortment of plaster-like materials. These range from authentic plasters, derived from heated lime and gypsum, to mud, calcium carbonate and calcium sulphate-based pastes bound with organic media and sometimes integrated with clay minerals and plant fibres. Although architectural plaster use in ancient Egypt has received some attention, a gap remains in the analysis and precise characterisation of the materials applied to objects. Understanding their composition can shed light on technological changes, provide contextual insights and support provenance studies. A minimally invasive approach was applied to the two coffins of Pakepu (intermediate and inner), a funerary ensemble from Thebes dating back to about 680-664 BCE, and to a group of coffin fragments from the same area and period, employed as a comparison group. The inner coffin of Pakepu and the fragments all exhibit a complex surface layering reminiscent of cartonnage. This is in contrast to the much simpler surface construction seen on the intermediate coffin. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to characterise the inorganic constituents. Ground, unheated calcite was detected in all the pastes, but differences in micromorphology and the distribution of minor elements (particularly Mg and Fe) in the Pakepu inner and intermediate coffin, and in the fragments, point to the involvement of different workshops, geological sources and manufacturing protocols in the production of these materials. (For a summary in Arabic, see Online Resource)

Occurring throughout the Americas, ceramics with negative decoration have been variously used as archaeological markers of chronology, provenance, ethnic affiliation, or cultural interaction. In the highlands of the adjacent regions of Nariño (Colombia) and Carchi (Ecuador), they are recovered and discussed frequently, but the lack of technical studies has prevented any conclusive inferences about their technology, craft organisation, or diachronic evolution. Here we present the first comparative analysis of the chaînes opératoires of three ceramic wares – Capulí, Piartal, and Tuza – based on a large sample from multiple sites. Combining geometric morphometrics, bulk chemistry, microscopy, and microanalysis, we provide high-resolution characterisation of each ware before comparing their chaînes opératoires. We demonstrate that Capulí and Piartal share decorative features and production pathways, which we interpret as indicating the direct knowledge transmission and interaction between their makers. Similarity in vessel morphology and clay sources between Piartal and Tuza ceramics suggests continuity between these two technological traditions, but new decorative techniques and designs in Tuza vessels are strongly indicative of exogenous influences. This study has implications for regional archaeology but also offers a model for the nuanced comparison of ceramic traditions in other areas (for an extended summary in Spanish, see Supplementary Material).

Our knowledge of Chalcolithic copper smelting practices across Iberia is extensive but lacks regional nuance. This prevents an assessment of regional trajectories that may depart from a general ‘Iberian technological tradition’, including their origins and diachronic evolution. This paper contributes to these questions by analysing 3rd millennium BC copper production residues from various sites in Northeast Iberia: Covas Cartanyà, del Buldó, Josefina d’Escornalbou, de l’Heura, and Balma del Duc. Using pXRF, OM, and SEM-EDS, we characterise the ores used and the metallurgical operations conducted (including smelting of copper carbonates, co-smelting of sulphidic and oxidic ores, and melting), and discuss them in relation to their contexts, contemporaneous materials and available lead isotopes data. We reveal Northeast Iberian metallurgy as a distinct and versatile tradition that selectively adopted elements from Southern Iberia and Southern France traditions, and trace the legacy of these idiosyncratic practices in copper and bronze making over two millennia.

Previous scientific explorations of kohl and other make-up substances from ancient Egypt have revealed a considerable diversity of materials and recipes used in different regions and time periods. However, samples from Sudanese Nubia have never been included in scientific investigations of make-up substances used along the Nile valley. For the first time, 24 samples of kohl and other cosmetics from Bronze Age Sudanese Lower Nubia (c. 2055-1070 BCE) were analysed using optical microscopy, GC-MS, SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR and XRD. Beyond expanding our knowledge of make-up usage in the ancient Nile valley by including samples from Sudan, this study adds further depth to our understanding of make-up substances in ancient Northeast Africa by exploring samples from well-defined archaeological contexts. The multi-analytical approach presented here sheds light on the diversity of recipes used by various communities in the Middle Nile valley during the Bronze Age. Most samples are dominated by lead sulphides, but these occur in various mixtures with quartz, clay, calcite, gypsum and zinc compounds, in addition to plant gums and animal fats. We also report for the first time the use of synthetic calcium antimonate in ancient cosmetic mixtures. Besides expanding our knowledge of make-up mixtures in ancient Northeast Africa, our study suggests that the considerable variation detected across the cultural borders of Bronze Age Egypt and Nubia reflects distinctive bodily ideals.

Our understanding of Romano-British iron metallurgy is mainly based on smelting remains and the analysis of bladed tools and weapons. Complementing previous research, this study examines iron nails from the Roman town of Aldborough, Yorkshire (Isurium Brigantum), where a blacksmith’s workshop featuring extensive remains of coal, a fuel not commonly documented in Roman metallurgy, was excavated. The research investigates the manufacturing technology of the nails, contextualized within broader Roman ironworking, along with potential sources of metal and possible alterations attributable to the use of coal as smithing fuel. The manufacturing technology is explored via metallography while scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) is employed for elemental analysis of the slag inclusions.The study reveals that the nails from Aldborough are examples of typical Roman nail production with no advanced techniques such as quenching or piling being used. Carbon content shows no discernible pattern across the dataset, varying from zero to 0.8% C in spots, suggesting a lack of deliberate metal selection. Attempts to determine the origin of the metal through multivariate statistical methods (HCA, PCA, and LDA) applied to slag inclusion compositions suggest a very diverse origin of the metal spanning various regions of Roman Britain. While there is no conclusive evidence indicating the utilization of coal in the smithing process, we suggest the elevated sulfur content in slag inclusions may provide an indirect indicator, which should be further investigated in future work.

This study concerns prehistoric amber networks in north-eastern Iberia, emphasizing its distinct exchange dynamics compared to other regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Baltic amber dominated assemblages in this area from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, contrasting with the prevalence of Sicilian amber in southern Iberia, or Cretaceous Iberian amber in the northern region. The findings underscore the region’s connection to southern France, with the Pyrenees serving as a cultural conduit, unlike the river Ebro, which acted as a boundary. Here the authors present the results of a Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) analysis of twenty-one amber beads, primarily from collective burials. Eighteen were made of Baltic succinite. Baltic amber may have begun to arrive as early as 3634–3363 cal bc , and continued to be used until the Late Bronze Age. Exceptions included a unique spacer-bead made of gum and two bolus pigments misidentified as amber. The results highlight Iberia’s regional diversity in raw material sourcing and exchange, reflecting distinct sociocultural dynamics and challenging linear narratives of Iberian prehistory.