Rock art in the Alps, centred on just two expansive sites, complements the many Scandinavian sites as a major source for open-air art in later European prehistory. A revelatory biography of one of the pioneering researchers there, published simultaneously with a superb monograph on a single rich surface of Alpine art, prompts this review of how we have studied, how we presently study and how we may come to study that art.

Textiles and clothing are fundamental aspects of everyday life in the past but are often overlooked in archaeology. Fortunately, this is changing, as witnessed by three new books, reviewed here. Two deal with the beginnings of clothing and textile production, but in different ways; the third contains contributions reflecting on this theme. The monograph by Ian Gilligan—a polyhistory of medicine, psychology, prehistoric archaeology and biological anthropology—presents new theories on the emergence of clothing and textiles in a sustained argument; the two other books, edited volumes comprising 29 papers by textile specialists, each present new research on different aspects of ancient textiles and clothing. In several cases, authors disagree, enhancing the value of the debates, and adding to our understanding of the impact on society of ancient textile production and clothing.

The series of volumes edited by Joseph Carter on the rural landscape around the Greek colony of Metapontum in southern Italy represent a slow but steady revolution in the field of Classical studies. This latest addition to the series presents the results of excavations at the rural site of Pantanello, near modern Metaponto, first launched by the Institute of Classical Archaeology of the University of Austin in 1974. At that time, Classical archaeologists concentrated almost entirely on urban contexts, especially temples and public buildings. Rural sites were of interest only if they featured in the literary sources. To initiate fieldwork at an anonymous rural location such as Pantanello, where only some roof tiles and stone blocks were visible, was therefore a courageous undertaking for a young scholar such as Joe Carter at that time. That fieldwork, however, has proved to be seminal, not only because of the broad range of data that have been brought to light by Carter and his international team, but also because of the meticulous publication of the results in a series of high-quality volumes that have set a new benchmark. The volume under review, The Greek sanctuary at Pantanello, comprises three sub-volumes, totalling 1678 pages.