The last decades of fieldwork have not decisively upset the long-held view that the settlement of the Americas occurred in the very latest Pleistocene, as marked in North America by the Clovis archaeological horizon at about 11,200 years ago, and by a variety of contemporaneous South American industries. Yet there are several sites that may prove to be older, among them Pedra Furada, in the thorn forest of northeastern Brazil, a large and remarkable rock-shelter, whose Pleistocene deposits have been interpreted as containing clear evidence of human occupation.

This paper offers a considered view of Pedra Furada from three archaeologists with a wide range of experiences in sites of all ages in the Americas and elsewhere, but who also share a special interest and expertise in the issues Pedra Furada has raised: Meltzer from long study of the peopling of the Americas and the frame of thinking within which we address that issue (Meltzer 1993a; 1993b); Adovasio from his intensive excavations and analysis of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania, the prime North American pre-Clovis candidate (Adovasio et al. 1990; Donahue & Adovasio 1990); and Dillehay from his work at the Monte Verde site in Chile, a site in which extraordinary preservation has produced a rich archaeological record with radiocarbon ages in excess of 12,500 years b.p. (Dillehay 1989a; in press). At the invitation of the Pedra Furada team, the three travelled to Brazil last December to participate in an international conference on the peopling of the Americas, and see first-hand the evidence from Pedra Furada.

While the caves round Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, are famous for their Mesolithic artefacts, they have also produced Bronze Age finds and numerous burials. Radiocarbon dates on human bones from one cave show these to be Iron Age, suggesting the Obanian assemblages are composites accumulated over millennia.

Take six early Chinese cities from the key Eastern Zhou period, study their shape and topography, see how their development represents both migration into the urban centres and the established structures of the ruling class.

The story of a city that was built close by a river must be a watery one. Here is an archaeological and geomorphological study of a medieval Thai city that experienced flooding and sedimentation throughout its life.

Forensic archaeology is a relatively recent development in the UK but has already shown its worth on a number of scenes of crime; it has a particular role to play in the location and recovery of buried remains, notably in homicide investigations. This paper explores the overlap between archaeology and criminal investigation and considers areas of mutual interest, experience and potential.

A 1977 ANTIQUITY paper included a study of Neutron Activation Analyses of Ubaid pottery from Mesopotamia and the Arabian Gulf (Oates et al. 1977). A re-examination finds that the interpretation of the statistical analysis was mistaken and shows that the data do not prove the existence of ‘seafaring merchants of Ur’ in the Ubaid period.

In 1978, the excavation of the Macedonian royal tombs at Vergina in north Greece gave a more physical aspect to the historical place of Philip and of Alexander the Great. These archaeological finds now have an active role in the region's politics, where the present is again being re-made by the pictures of the past.

Denmark's long coast-line, with its fjords, sounds, minor waterways, and small islands, provides every need and opportunity for a marine aspect to society. The maritime settlements of the early centuries AD, a special case within the north European pattern of seatrading, are being studied by a new Centre for Maritime Archaeology at Roskilde, whose projects include a study of the shore of Roskilde Fjord.

The summer of 1994 in Britain started cold and wet, with the spring growing season distinctly late, and then turned very hot. Each summer, with its own personality, makes for a different flavour to the air photography.

Salvage archaeology in anticipation of destruction is an accepted response to a site in the way of a pipe-line or other development. But is it right in principle? — a ‘full and fair’ record is not quite the same as survival of the actual site. And if techniques to protect a site during construction work are well designed, may they not also be cheaper?

Another step has started in trying to figure out just what the collected archaeology of England amounts to — this time, with its change in mind.

Excavation of an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery at West Water Reservoir, Peeblesshire, has uncovered a unique two-strand necklace, with one string of cannel coal disc beads and another of lead beads, buried around the neck of a young child. This is the earliest evidence for the use of metallic lead in Britain and Ireland.

How different are the intellectual traditions of Continental and of Anglo-American archaeology, and how is each changing? Counting papers in the standard journals which address aspects of hunter-gatherer archaeology may show.

A note in the 1990 ANTIQUITY volume dealt with four issues crucial to the successful use of radiocarbon in archaeology (Bowman & Balaam 1990): selection and characterization of material and context; determination of the radiocarbon result and error term; interpretation and publication; and strategic resourcing. Since then much has been published, particularly on quality control of radiocarbon measurements (‘determination’), and on the calibration of radiocarbon results (‘interpretation’). Here is an update.

The September Editorial (68: 477–9) noticed how the Normandy invasions of D-Day 1944 are, and are not, archaeologically visible. The author of the pioneering book on the pillbox defences of Britain in the Second World War explains what little there is surviving in southern England. Static defences, we see, leave traces in a way a mobile attack does not.

More on whether evidence of prehistoric environment on the Pacific island of Mangaia does or does not demonstrate an early human presence there.

An ANTIQUITY paper used the methods of Bayesian statistics to combine radiocarbon and stratigraphic information into a single considered view. But are they different kinds of information, more fairly kept separate?

The craft of bird-watching lies in the distinctive look any bird has, so it may be recognized even from a passing glimpse. That may help with identifying the prehistoric birds captured as passing glimpses for us in Palaeolithic pictures.