Key papers in Archeology
Pofolia’s corpus holds 68 papers from the Archeology subfield (2012–2026). The list below starts with the most cited.
Most cited
Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”.
Macromolecular structure determination using X-rays, neutrons and electrons: recent developments in Phenix.
2019 · 567 citations
The Phenix software package has been updated to support macromolecular structure determination using X-ray, neutron, electron diffraction, and cryo-electron microscopy data.
Early evidence of San material culture represented by organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 153.23 · 437 citations
Organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa, including notched bones, wooden digging sticks, and bone awls, demonstrate key elements of San material culture dating back to approximately 44,000 years ago.
Mapping the Global Flow of Steel: From Steelmaking to End-Use Goods
Environmental Science & Technology · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 50.06 · 264 citations
This paper presents the first comprehensive map of global steel flows, tracing the material from production through to final goods, to identify key areas for environmental impact reduction.
The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Rock Art
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2017 · FWCI 73.11 · 226 citations
This handbook explores rock art as a widespread cultural expression, offering insights into ancestral minds, symbolic landscapes, and spiritual beliefs across diverse global contexts and time periods.
History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain
2012 · FWCI 14.99 · 164 citations
Edward Baines' 1835 work analyzes the cotton industry as a model of integrating manufacturing, science, and innovation, tracing its development and current state in Britain.
Decolonizing Indigenous histories: exploring prehistoric/colonial transitions in archaeology
Choice Reviews Online · 2013 · 161 citations
This edited volume reframes archaeology of colonialism by integrating long-term Indigenous histories and collaborative research, moving beyond artificial prehistoric/colonial divides.
Archaeologies of the Bantu Expansion
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2013 · FWCI 2.19 · 156 citations
The Bantu expansion, a complex series of population movements across Africa over millennia, is best understood not as a single event but as a multifaceted process involving colonization, migration, and diffusion.
Russia and Syria: explaining alignment with a regime in crisis
International Affairs · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 51.11 · 154 citations
Russia's unwavering support for the Assad regime in Syria is driven less by identity or material interests and more by concerns over domestic political order and resisting Western-led regime change interventions.
Southern African Field Archaeology
Southern African Field Archaeology · 2022 · 153 citations
Archaeologists from South African museums met to address professional challenges, leading to the establishment of a Museum Archaeology Working Group (MAWG) as their official voice.
Modelling the Spread of Farming in the Bantu-Speaking Regions of Africa: An Archaeology-Based Phylogeography
PLoS ONE · 2014 · Q1 · FWCI 87.03 · 153 citations · Open access
This study uses archaeological data and novel spatial modeling techniques to reconstruct the spread of farming across sub-Saharan Africa among Bantu-speaking populations.
Geologic subjects: nonhuman origins, geomorphic aesthetics and the art of becoming <i>in</i> human
Cultural Geographies · 2014 · Q1 · FWCI 49.10 · 141 citations
This paper argues that human subjectivity is not solely human-derived but emerges from a complex interplay with nonhuman and inhuman forces, as evidenced by prehistoric rock art.
The Science of Armour Materials
Elsevier eBooks · 2016 · FWCI 20.78 · 137 citations
This book provides a comprehensive overview of armour materials, detailing their properties and applications in various operational environments.
An early date for cattle from Namaqualand, South Africa: implications for the origins of herding in southern Africa
Antiquity · 2013 · Q1 · FWCI 51.14 · 137 citations
New radiocarbon dating of a cow horn from Namaqualand, South Africa, suggests cattle arrived in the region during the early first millennium AD.
Were the first Bantu speakers south of the rainforest farmers?
John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks · 2017 · FWCI 7.04 · 136 citations
Lexical reconstructions suggest early Bantu speakers south of the West African rainforest 2500 years ago cultivated at least five crops, indicating agricultural knowledge, but they also heavily relied on wild plant resources.
Livestock First Reached Southern Africa in Two Separate Events
PLoS ONE · 2015 · Q1 · FWCI 71.57 · 134 citations · Open access
New analysis of stone toolkits and early livestock/ceramic remains reveals livestock entered southern Africa via two distinct routes just over 2000 years ago, contradicting single migration theories.
Psychoactive Substances in Prehistoric Times: Examining the Archaeological Evidence
Time and Mind · 2015 · Q1 · FWCI 30.19 · 134 citations
Archaeological evidence suggests humans have consumed psychoactive substances like drug plants and fermented beverages for millennia.
Attention and Interpretation
2013 · FWCI 18.41 · 126 citations
This abstract describes a reissue of a 1970 book on attention and interpretation, originally part of a collaboration between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Bronze Age Copper Produced at Mitterberg, Austria, and its Distribution
Archaeologia Austriaca · 2016 · Q1 · FWCI 52.74 · 123 citations · Open access
Analysis of lead isotope ratios and trace elements reveals that Mitterberg, a major Bronze Age mining field in the Alps, became the primary source of copper in Central Europe by the Middle Bronze Age, replacing earlier fahlore sources.
THE EVOLUTION AND AGES OF MAKGADIKGADI PALAEO-LAKES: CONSILIENT EVIDENCE FROM KALAHARI DRAINAGE EVOLUTION SOUTH-CENTRAL AFRICA
South African Journal of Geology · 2012 · Q2 · FWCI 51.23 · 120 citations
The Makgadikgadi palaeo-lake system in Botswana, a remnant of a larger inland lake, has a much older history than previously thought. Its evolution was driven by tectonic shifts that rerouted regional rivers into the basin.
The archaeological evidence for the appearance of pastoralism and farming in southern Africa
PLoS ONE · 2018 · Q1 · FWCI 41.52 · 119 citations · Open access
Archaeological data from 550 BC to AD 1050 reveals that pottery, cattle, and sheep appeared in drier southern African regions approximately 700 years before the full 'Iron Age package' (including agriculture and metalworking) emerged in the east.
Recently added
The Main Stages of the Late Quaternary Evolution of the Kalahari Region, Southern Africa
2026 · 93 citations
Kalahari climate shifts during the Late Quaternary were driven by changes in global atmospheric circulation intensity, not by shifts in climatic belts, with distinct wet and arid periods identified.
Southern African Field Archaeology
Southern African Field Archaeology · 2022 · 153 citations
Archaeologists from South African museums met to address professional challenges, leading to the establishment of a Museum Archaeology Working Group (MAWG) as their official voice.
Distinguishing African bovids using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS): New peptide markers and insights into Iron Age economies in Zambia
PLoS ONE · 2021 · Q1 · FWCI 94.18 · 63 citations · Open access
ZooMS analysis can now distinguish nearly all African bovid subfamilies, and some tribes/sub-tribes, using newly identified peptide markers, including two novel ones, overcoming previous limitations in identifying fragmented African fauna.
Maliwawa figures—a previously undescribed Arnhem Land rock art style
Australian Archaeology · 2020 · Q1 · FWCI 73.60 · 63 citations
A previously undescribed rock art style, named Maliwawa Figures, characterized by large human and animal depictions with stroke-line infill, has been identified in northwest Arnhem Land.
Wood and the Activity of Dead Tissue
Advanced Materials · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 8.00 · FWCI 50.07 · 62 citations · Open access
Wood's cellulose microarchitecture acts as an analog code, enabling humidity-driven actuation (movement) by controlling water absorption and desorption.
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