Around the world, millions of people live with dementia. Archaeologists have advanced heritage engagement as a form of therapy, for example, through museum object handling. Here, the author proposes an alternative focus, arguing that archaeology can contribute to research on the materialities of care. Through a case study of a ‘dementia assemblage’ curated by an avocational archaeologist, the author documents the embodied and material traces of the collector's earlier archaeological practices, their increasing comfort in handling stone as dementia progressed and their sustained interest in the pareidolic properties of things. The results contribute to a wider understanding of the important role of materiality for those living with dementia.

Introduction: Renal colic is among the most painful conditions that patients experience. The main outcome determinants for patients with renal colic are stone size, location and hydronephrosis; however, little is known about the association of pain with these parameters. Our objective was to determine whether more severe pain is associated with larger stones, more proximal stones or more severe hydronephrosis, findings that might suggest the need for advanced imaging, hospitalization or early intervention. Methods: We used administrative data and structured chart review to study all adult emergency department (ED) patients in two cities with a renal colic diagnosis over one-year. Patients with missing imaging results or pain scores were excluded. Triage nurses recorded numeric rating scale (NRS) pain scores on arrival. We stratified patients into mild (NRS <4), moderate (NRS 4-7) and severe (NRS 8-10) pain groups, as per CTAS guidelines. Stone size (mm) and location (proximal, middle, distal ureter, or renal) were abstracted from imaging reports, while index admissions were determined from hospital discharge abstracts. We used multivariable linear regression to determine the association of arrival pain with stone characteristics and hydronephrosis severity (primary outcome), and we used multivariable logistic regression to determine the association of pain with index hospitalization (secondary outcome). We also performed a stratified analysis looking at ureteral vs. kidney (intrarenal) stones. Results: We studied 1053 patients, 66% male, with a mean age of 48 years. After controlling for patient and disease characteristics, we found no significant association between pain severity and stone size (b=−0.0004; 95%CI = -0.0015, 0.0008) or stone location (b = 0.0045; 95%CI: -0.020, 0.029). Nor did we find an association between pain and hydronephrosis severity (b = 0.016; 95%CI: -0.053, 0.022, p = 0.418). Stratified analyses using a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons revealed the same absence of associations in the kidney and ureteral stone subgroups. Arrival pain did not predict index admission (OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.59, 1.16). Conclusion: Arrival pain scores are not associated with stone size, stone location or hydronephrosis severity, and do not predict index visit hospitalization in ED patients with renal colic. Severe pain should motivate efforts to minimize treatment delays, but do not suggest the need to modify advanced imaging or admission decisions.

This article presents a comparative study of the arrowheads found in graves dating to between 2500 BC and 1700 bc in north-west France, southern Britain and Denmark. The aim is to characterise their modes of production and functions during a period which successively sees the introduction of copper then bronze metallurgy, the former accompanying the appearance of Bell Beaker pottery and associated practices in these areas. Several modes of production are proposed, from individual manufacture by Bell Beaker-using warriors to specialist production for elite use during the Early Bronze Age. Over and above their function as weapons – arguably associated more with interpersonal combat than with hunting – arrowheads served to portray and emphasise the social status of the individuals. In the case of the Early Bronze Age Armorican arrowheads, they should be regarded as ‘sacred’ objects, made for display and enhancing the power of the chiefs. Lastly, arrows are placed in the broader perspective of major trends affecting Europe during the Bell Beaker period and then the Early Bronze Age, while the distribution of arrowheads with slanted barbs suggests the operation of an Atlantic cultural complex.

The role of the human body in the creation of social knowledge—as an ontological and/or aesthetic category—has been applied across social theory. In all these approaches, the body is viewed as a locus for experience and knowledge. If the body is a source of subjective knowledge, then it can also become an important means of creating ontological categories of self and society. The materiality of human representations within art traditions, then, can be interpreted as providing a means for contextualizing and aestheticizing the body in order to produce a symbolic and structural knowledge category. This paper explores the effect of material choices and techniques of production when representing the human body on how societies order and categorize the world.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the dormancy break and germination requirements of seeds from the rhamnaceous vine Berchemia scandens. The fleshy fruit contains a two-locular stone with an endocarp described as ‘bony, thickish’. Scarified and non-scarified stones increased by about 30–50% in mass during imbibition over a 24-h period. The endocarp of the stone does not completely enclose the seeds and a soft tissue region is present. This region is the primary area of water entrance to the seed, as shown by dye-tracking and by sealing it. Freshly matured and overwintered seeds of B. scandens germinated to low percentages at all temperatures during 2 weeks of incubation in light, and they germinated from moderate to high percentages during 12–14 weeks of incubation in light. While cold stratification had a relatively modest effect on the promotion of total germination across most temperatures assessed (if seeds were left for long enough), it had a somewhat stronger effect on germination rate. Cold-stratified seeds germinated equally well in light and darkness. The class of dormancy found in seeds of B. scandens would be physiological. The anatomy of the stones readily allows water imbibition, showing that seeds of B. scandens lack physical dormancy, an uncommon trait in Rhamnaceae.

The late Neolithic monument complex at Avebury, Wiltshire, continues to elicit much curiosity and attention. However, with excavation unlikely to occur in the near future, new and non-destructive means of exploring the monument complex are required. Although a number of such investigations have been undertaken, to date no concerted effort has been made to consolidate the results within a single framework. The opening stages of such a project, involving innovative research using GIS and Virtual-Reality technologies within an explicitly theoretical interpretative agenda, are described here.

Scanning electron microscopy provides an insight into the lapidary techniques of the ancient Near East. Engraved features on quartz cylinder seals have been compared to those produced experimentally, leading to a radical reassessment of the date for the introduction of the engraving wheel.

Experimental work on the techniques for making stone sarcophagi demonstrate how a variety of tools, material and drilling methods were employed in ancient Egypt