Braden Cordivari

17 June 2026

Congratulations to the winner and honorable mention for the R.E. Taylor Poster Award given at the 45^th International Symposium on Archaeometry, held in Torino, Italy in May. This award acknowledges innovative student contributions to archaeological research through the use of scientific methods, and has enhanced the careers of prominent young scholars and professionals for more than two decades. 

Winner – Adriana Iuliano (Archéosciences Bordeaux, CNRS/Bordeaux Montaigne)

We are pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s award is Adriana Iuliano of the University of Bordeaux. Adriana’s research poster, titled “Tracing painting practices in Roman Gaul: an archaeometric study of wall paintings from Limonum (I-III C. AD)” presents the first archaeometric overview of Gallo-Roman pigments and painting techniques in Poitiers (France), covering eight archaeological sites and twelve decorative schemes across three centuries. Using hyperspectral imaging (VNIR-SWIR-HSI) as a screening tool as well as other non-invasive (DM, XRF, XRD) and micro-invasive (OM, SEM-EDS, FTIR, Raman) techniques, the study characterises pigment palettes, complex painting stratigraphies, and identifies workshop practices, offering new insights into the circulation of materials and decorative traditions in a provincial Roman context.

Adriana’s research focuses on the use of physico-chemical characterisation methods for the study of heritage materials, in particular the study of paintings and polychrome objects. By combining imaging and spectroscopic techniques in multi-analytical protocols, her work aims to reconstruct the materials and practices behind painted surfaces. Congratulations once again!

Honorable Mention – Camila Hernández Murillo (Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Écologie- équipe Écologie, Ecotoxicologie & Chimie Appliquées à l’Agroécologie et à la Restauration, Avignon Université; Centro de Investigación en Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales, Universidad de Costa Rica)

We are also pleased to announce that Camila Hernández Murillo (University of Avignon/University of Costa Rica) has earned an Honorable Mention for her project, “Crossing Regions: Geochemical Discrimination of Guatemalan Jade and Its Application to Costa Rican Artifact Provenance.” Jade, a material highly valued by ancient Mesoamerican cultures, appears in several Costa Rican funerary contexts (300 BCE–500 CE) despite the lack of local sources. This study determines the provenance of 25 artifacts from ten archaeological sites in Costa Rica to trace pre-Columbian exchange networks. Primarily based on LA-ICP-MS trace element data, Camila developed a PLS-DA discrimination model for the Guatemalan North and South Motagua Mélanges, achieving 88% accuracy in distinguishing these sources. Its application to Costa Rican artifacts reveals strong geochemical affinities, with the majority matching the North Motagua Mélange. This geochemical and statistical approach suggest long-distance interaction networks of over 800 km between the Maya region and Costa Rica.      

Camila’s research focuses on the study of jade and greenstones in pre-Columbian Costa Rica. It encompasses an exhaustive identification of materials using non-invasive spectroscopic analysis to distinguish between locally available resources and non-local materials, such as jade. These findings guide a subsequent detailed geochemical characterization of selected jadeite-jade samples for provenance studies, coupled with the development of a methodological framework to achieve robust statistical provenance predictions. Ultimately, Camila’s goal is to advance the application of archaeometric techniques to Costa Rica's archaeological heritage, promoting regional scientific expertise while providing critical insights into ancient trade networks and the region's greenstone lapidary traditions. Well done, Camila!

Braden Cordivari

17 June 2026

SAS is excited to announce the winner of the Charles C. Kolb Award for Archaeological Ceramics for 2025. This annual prize honors the best paper published on science-based archaeological research of ceramics, particularly interdisciplinary approaches.

This year’s winner is Sabine Kleiman of Tel Aviv University, for her paper title "Interrelated communities of practice in the Late Bronze Age southern Levant: a ceramic perspective from the Shephelah.”

The article examines how pottery-making knowledge circulated among Late Bronze Age communities in the southern Levant, focusing on bowls from the Judean Shephelah. Using petrography, typology, and techno-stylistic analysis on vessels from Azekah, Tell es-Ṣafi/Gath, Lachish, Beth Shemesh, and Tel Batash, the study identifies both shared and site-specific ceramic practices. All sites used wheel-coiling, but two different base-forming chaînes opératoires were found. The string-cut method at Gath and Lachish suggests Egyptian technological influence, transmitted through close social interaction rather than observation alone, revealing connections between Canaanite potters and Egypt’s imperial system.

Sabine’s research focuses on the history of the southern Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages, through the lens of ceramic analysis. Her primary focus is set on the area of the Judean Lowlands but her research includes sites across the country, like the typological analysis of ceramics from Timna and Jaffa, or petrographic investigations of the pottery from Tel Moza.  Sabine is also the field director of the Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition. Congratulations!

Kleiman, S., 2025. Interrelated communities of practice in the Late Bronze Age southern Levant: a ceramic perspective from the Shephelah. Levant 57, 296–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2025.2584874

Braden Cordivari

03 June 2026

Winner - Sara McGuire

We are very pleased to announce that the Journal of Archaeological Science (JAS) and Society for Archaeological Sciences (SAS) Emerging Investigator Award for 2025 has been awarded to Sara A. McGuire for the paper “Revolution and Resilience: A multianalytical approach to the study of diet, metabolic stress, and life experiences in Revolutionary Philadelphia”. Follow the DOI for more info: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106312

The paper was selected as an excellent example of a combined multy-disciplinary approach integrating extensive datasets from bio- and biomolecular archaeology as well as historical sources. The Award Committee was particularly impressed by the depth and scale of the conducted analysis, as well as the intricate interpretative conclusions synthesising wider historical processes and individual life experiences. 

Author’s comments:

The research presented in this article stems from my first postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum Conservation Institute. I was thrilled at the prospect of learning what life was like during such a historic period at the earliest foundations of the United States, with the interests and concerns of the modern descendant population and community in mind. We found that early Americans in Philadelphia were resilient in the face of significant change, and were able to find unique ways to supplement their diets and survive in the face of the challenges of the period.  

2025 SAS-JAS Emerging Investigator Winner Sara McGuire

Honorouble Mention - Nicolas Bourgon

Due to high number and quality of papers nominated this year, the Award Committee decided to also announce one Honourable Mention for the SAS-JAS Emerging Investigator Award 2025:
Nicolas Bourgon for the paper “Less is more: Limiting semi-invasive sampling for multi-isotope analyses and increasing data output from single aliquot samples”, cf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106308. The paper was highlighted due to its methodological novelty and future potential in trace element and stable isotope analysis, whilst emphasising the ethical considerations of destructive sampling from archaeological skeletal remains.

2025 SAS-JAS Emerging Investigator Honorable Mention Nicolas Bourgon

Braden Cordivari

26 May 2026

This month’s Executive Board Reading Recommendation comes from VP for Website Administration AJ White. These informal selections are a way to highlight what we are reading and finding interesting. Here is what AJ has to say about his selection:

The paper, "Hanging around or moving on up? Multi-proxy perspectives on Bronze Age sheep/goats herding practices in the north-eastern Po Plain," published in Quaternary Science Reviews by Manfrin et al., came to my attention through its punny title. But I particularly appreciate how it uses archaeological science to clarify an ambiguity of the archaeological record. The paper notes that transhumance, the seasonal movement of livestock, is thought to have developed in Northern Italy during the Bronze Age, but little traditional archaeological evidence exists to support this hypothesis. The authors use a multiproxy approach, employing C, N, O, and Sr faunal isotopic data, to determine if Bronze Age livestock ate a local or migratory diet. The results suggest that herds were fed locally and the paper challenges the notion that transhumance emerged at this time, showing that archaeological science brings nuance to our understanding of the past.

Manfrin, M.S., Gillis, R.E., Polisca, F., Holt, E., Breglia, F., D’Aquino, S., Lamb, A.L., Madgwick, R., Millet, M.-A., Nederbragt, A.J., Nicosia, C., Piazzalunga, G., Shaw-Eleazar, K., Dal Corso, M., 2026. Hanging around or moving on up? Multi-proxy perspectives on Bronze Age sheep/goats herding practices in the north-eastern Po Plain (northern Italy). Quaternary Science Reviews 382, 109961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109961

Reconstruction of the landscape with possible land use indicated (Manfrin et al., 2026, Fig. 10)

Braden Cordivari

20 May 2026

Congratulations to Amit Ranjan (Ashoka University), the 2026 winner of the Eurofins EAG Laboratories-SAS Student Pilot Research Award! This award is designed to support the collection of preliminary chemical data for use in major funding applications.

Amit’s project is titled “Tracing the change and continuity in Provenance and Production Technology from Pre-Urban Phase to Urban Harappan phase at the site of Rakhigarhi.” This research aims to investigate continuity and change in ceramics production technology and provenance from the Pre-Urban Harappan to the Urban Harappan phases at Rakhigarhi, with particular attention to mound RGR-7. It examines whether ceramic production developed gradually from earlier regional traditions such as Hakra and Sothi-Siswal or underwent significant technological and material transformations because of intra-site and inter-regional interaction. The study integrates traditional typological analysis with archaeometric methods, such as ICP-MS and SEM-EDX, to locate local clay sources, characterize ceramic raw materials, and reconstruct production technology.

Amit Ranjan is a PhD student at Ashoka University, working with Dr. Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty. He investigates ancient ceramic production technologies and provenance, aiming to reconstruct the development, transmission, and adoption of technological knowledge across generations and cultures. His work explores standardization in ceramic production, the selection and provenance of raw materials, tempering practices, firing conditions, and slipping techniques. Using advanced analytical methods—including ICP-MS, FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX, and petrography—he analyzes the chemical and mineralogical composition of ceramics to understand the local and non-local production, technology, craft specialization, trade, and exchange, socio-economic and cultural significance. This interdisciplinary approach sheds light on the dynamics of ancient urbanism and inter-regional interactions in South Asia.

SAS is grateful to Eurofins EAG Laboratories for their support of this award. Congratulations again, Amit!

Braden Cordivari

08 May 2026

This is our second spotlight on a paper based on research supported by the SAS Student and ECR Research Support Award. 2023 winner Sutonuka Bhattacharya is a PhD student at the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Research Assistant at the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education in Chennai. She recently published “Grinding stones from the neolithic “Ashmound” site of Budihal, India” in Archaeological Research in Asia.

Highlights:

• Techno-functional analysis: The study presents the first detailed analysis of sandstone grinding stones from the Neolithic Ashmound site of Budihal (∼2480–1580 BCE), integrating typology, 3D modelling, and surface analysis.
• Raw material and manufacture: Grinding stones were made exclusively from locally available sandstone slabs, with minimal initial shaping and consistent technological strategies involving flaking, rim formation, and pecking.
• Use-life and variability: Variations in surface concavity, rim thickness, and pecking intensity suggest functional differentiation, task-specific practices, and evidence of tool rejuvenation and reuse."

Grinding stones are among the most ubiquitous artefacts at Southern Neolithic sites in peninsular India, yet their technological, functional, and socio-cultural significance remains insufficiently explored. This paper presents a techno-functional analysis of sandstone grinding stones from the Neolithic site of Budihal (c. 2480–1580 BCE), located in the Shorapur Doab, Karnataka. It employs an integrated methodology combining typological classification, 3D modelling, and surface analysis to investigate raw material selection, manufacturing techniques, working surface modification, and use-life histories. The results highlight consistent technological strategies, including the selection of locally available sandstone slabs, minimal initial shaping, and the use of flaking and pecking for surface preparation. Variations in surface morphology and wear patterns suggest functional differentiation and possibly user-specific practices. Contextual evidence points to their use and storage within domestic contexts, with reuse and discard patterns reflecting broader Neolithic technological traditions.

We hope you enjoy reading about Sutonuka’s research, and congratulations to her and her colleagues! Find out more about how to share your work with a Spotlight.

Bhattacharya, S., Paddayya, K., Akhilesh, K., Goren-Inbar, N., Shelach-Lavi, G., Pappu, S., 2026. Grinding stones from the neolithic “Ashmound” site of Budihal, India. Archaeological Research in Asia 46, 100704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2026.100704

Documentation of a grinding stone (Bhattacharya et al. 2026, Fig. 4)