G_4_00 — Interdisciplinary Meta Methods: Subfolder Summary

G_4_21 — Archaeogenomics: Ancient DNA and the Reconstruction of Human History

Archaeogenomics — the extraction, sequencing, and analysis of DNA from ancient biological remains — has revolutionized understanding of human migration, admixture, and population history since Svante Pääbo's pioneering w

G_4_16 — Comparative Mythology as Science — Phylogenetic and Statistical Approaches

Comparative mythology — the systematic study of myths and folktales across cultures to identify shared elements, trace historical relationships, and understand the cognitive and social processes that generate mythologica

G_4_17 — Microbiome Archaeology — Ancient Gut and Soil Microbes

Microbiome archaeology — the extraction and analysis of ancient microbial communities from archaeological materials (dental calculus, coprolites, mummified remains, soil sediments, ceramics) — has emerged since ~2012 as

G_1_05 — eDNA and Environmental DNA — Reading Invisible Life

Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to genetic material shed by organisms into their environment — through skin cells, mucus, feces, urine, gametes, decomposing tissue, pollen, root exudates, and other biological residues —

G_1_04 — Isotope Analysis and Provenance Studies

Isotope analysis — the measurement of ratios of stable or radiogenic isotopes preserved in human bone, tooth enamel, animal remains, ceramics, metals, and organic residues — has become one of the most powerful tools in m

G_1_10 — Photogrammetry and 3D Scanning in Heritage Documentation

Photogrammetry and 3D scanning technologies have transformed archaeological and heritage documentation from two-dimensional plans and photographs into millimeter-accurate, three-dimensional digital records of sites, arti

G_1_13 — Use-Wear Analysis and Residue Studies — Reading Ancient Tools

Use-wear analysis (also called traceology or microwear analysis) and residue studies are complementary methodologies that determine how ancient tools were used — what materials they processed, what motions were involved,

G_1_16 — Ground-Penetrating Radar in Archaeological Prospection

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a non-invasive geophysical survey technique that transmits short pulses of electromagnetic (radar) energy into the ground and records the reflections returned from subsurface interfaces

G_1_07 — Stable Isotope Analysis and Ancient Diets

Stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains — primarily the measurement of carbon ($\delta^{13}$C), nitrogen ($\delta^{15}$N), and sulfur ($\delta^{34}$S) isotope ratios in bone collagen, tooth enamel, hair kerat

G_1_09 — Provenance Analysis: Strontium, Lead, and Oxygen Isotope Sourcing

Isotopic provenance analysis has revolutionized archaeology by enabling researchers to determine where an artifact was made, where a person grew up, what they ate, and how far they traveled — all from the chemical signat

G_3_11 — Information Theory and Biological Complexity

Information theory, founded by Claude Shannon (1948, A Mathematical Theory of Communication), provides a rigorous mathematical framework for quantifying information content, communication capacity, and complexity — conce

G_3_23 — Actor-Network Theory: Latour, Callon, and the Agency of Non-Humans

Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is a theoretical and methodological approach developed primarily by Bruno Latour (1947–2022), Michel Callon (born 1945), and John Law (born 1946) at the Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (CS

G_3_21 — Critical Realism: Roy Bhaskar and Stratified Ontology

Critical realism is a philosophical movement founded by Roy Bhaskar (1944–2014) that proposes a stratified ontology — reality consists of three nested domains (the Real, the Actual, and the Empirical) — and argues that s

G_3_28 — Phlogiston Theory: Productive Fiction and the Birth of Chemistry

Phlogiston theory — developed by German chemist and physician Georg Ernst Stahl in the early 18th century — held that all combustible materials contain a fire-principle called phlogiston (from the Greek phlogistós, "burn

G_3_27 — Morphic Resonance vs Epigenetic Inheritance: A Rigorous Comparison

For decades, Rupert Sheldrake's morphic resonance hypothesis — that organisms inherit form and behavior through a non-material "morphic field" carrying patterns from past similar systems — has been the most prominent fri

G_3_24 — Post-Normal Science: Funtowicz, Ravetz, and Uncertainty

Post-normal science (PNS) is a framework for understanding and managing scientific inquiry when facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high, and decisions urgent — conditions that characterize many of the most cr

G_2_15 — Cognitive Archaeology — Mind in the Archaeological Record

Cognitive archaeology investigates the cognitive abilities, mental processes, and symbolic capacities of past peoples through the material record they left behind — seeking to understand not just what ancient people did,

G_2_08 — Archaeogenetics — DNA Revolution in Prehistory

Archaeogenetics — the extraction and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from archaeological human, animal, and plant remains — has revolutionized our understanding of human migration, population structure, admixture, kinship

G_2_09 — Network Analysis in Archaeology — Trade, Communication, Influence

Network analysis — rooted in graph theory and social network analysis (SNA) — provides formal mathematical tools for modeling and analyzing the structure of relationships between archaeological entities: sites, regions,