In August 1998 the German archaeological world was stunned when two amateur archaeologists found decorated gold-sheet ornaments on a hill in Bavaria north of Munich, near a farm named Bernstorf, in the commune of Kranzberg. A Bronze Age fortified enclosure was known there, local amateurs having excavated it earlier in the 1990s; later, permission was granted for gravel extraction, trees were cleared and it was in this disturbed area that the gold appeared. The authorities were quickly alerted. Both the Staatssammlung in Munich (Bavarian State Archaeological Museum) and the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (BLfD, Bavarian State Office for Monument Care) took part in inspections and, subsequently, excavations. More gold, including a ‘diadem’, appeared and, in late September 1998, perforated lumps of amber. Then in November 2000, on the edge of an area under excavation by the BLfD, came the sensational discovery of two incised pieces of amber hailed as Mycenaean.

For those in search of current perspectives on the Aztec with a focus on matters economic, I heartily recommend a deep dive into these three volumes. Each book offers an insightful vantage on what we presently know about this pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican empire, as well as how new discoveries over the last 60–70 years force serious rethinking of both the long-term history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and key tenets that underpin pre-industrial political economies more broadly. Empires were a relatively rare phenomenon in the pre-industrial world, especially in the ancient Americas, and few have been so skilfully studied through a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates both historical texts and archaeology.

We thank the four commentators for adding new dimensions and important data relevant to interpreting the new Ingombe Ilede dates. These contribute to the recent wave of reassessments and critiques of earlier interpretations and frameworks for the development of trade and complexity in southern Africa. Such reconsiderations are made possible by more sophisticated and precise radiocarbon dating, expanded investigation of both new and previously excavated sites, and by the use of chemical analyses to identify differently sourced groups of glass beads and metals (e.g. Pikirayi 2009; Robertshaw et al. 2010; Chirikure et al. 2013, 2014, 2016; Koleini et al. 2016).

Over the past decade or so, the submerged prehistoric archaeology and landscapes in the area that is known to us today as the North Sea have received increasing attention from both archaeologists and earth scientists. For too long, this body of water was perceived as a socio-cultural obstacle between the prehistoric Continent and the British Isles, the rising sea level a threat to coastal settlers, and the North Sea floor itself an inaccessible submerged landscape. Notwithstanding the many pertinent and pervasive problems that the archaeology of the North Sea still needs to overcome, recent research has made clear that these rather uninspiring beliefs are misplaced.

The two monographs under review here are both published by the University Press of Florida and both feature results of field research at two previously understudied sites on the north and south coasts of Peru. Based on descriptions of excavation contexts and the analysis of material remains, Melissa Vogel and Christina Conlee discuss the implications of El Purgatorio and La Tiza for understanding Casma urbanism and the development of complex societies in Nasca, respectively. Field and laboratory results are used to revisit perennial questions in Andean archaeology, including the origins of urbanism, human-environment interactions and the role of regional phenomena in the unfolding of local cultures. While both authors report on site-based projects, they structure their presentations differently. Conlee takes a more regional approach, synthesising previous research at the national, regional, local and site levels. Vogel takes a more site-centric approach, presenting a summary of the ancient city's organisation and examining its impact on regional developments.