The article presents the results of a comprehensive study of dental and maxillofacial pathologies in the population of the North Caucasus who lived from the Early Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages (10th century BC to 9th century AD). The research material was derived from paleoanthropological collections of the Zayukovo-3 burial site (Kabardino-Balkaria Republic). The burials of the studied individuals belong to the Western Koban culture (7th – 5th centuries BC), the Sarmatian period (Podkumok-Khumara cultural group, 1st – 3rd centuries AD), and the Alanian era (5th – 7th centuries AD). In this study, an adapted version of M. Schultz’s methodology was used to analyze the frequencies of caries, apical periodontitis, enamel hypoplasia, dental calculus, antemortem enamel chipping, and the degree of dental wear. Significant differences were found in the dental and maxillofacial conditions among representatives of different archaeological cultures. Individuals associated with the Koban culture exhibited pronounced dental wear and a low prevalence of caries, suggesting a balanced diet dominated by meat and dairy products. During the Sarmatian period, an increase in caries and dental calculus was observed, which may be linked to dietary changes, possibly involving greater consumption of high-carbohydrate foods. The Alanic period was characterized by severe dental wear, an increased frequency of enamel hypoplasia, and traumatic dental injuries, indicating a decline in living conditions and overall population health.

Diabetes is a non-communicable disease affecting people of all ages worldwide, therefore, early detection using machine learning techniques is crucial. This study aims to predict diabetes using multiple machine learning algorithms, performance metrics, and holdout validation on an Egyptian dataset. The dataset was divided into four age groups, including paediatric, early adulthood, middle age, and geriatric. Ten algorithms were applied and validated using 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40 split ratios with accuracy, precision, and recall as evaluation metrics. Results showed that Random Forest, Extra Trees, and Support Vector Machine performed best in the paediatric group, while Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine achieved superior performance in early adulthood, middle age, and geriatric groups. In contrast, Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neighbors, and AdaBoost consistently demonstrated lower performance. Further analysis reveals that classification performance varies significantly across age groups, with the middle age and geriatric groups achieving the highest accuracy above 0.99, followed by the paediatric group 0.98–0.99, while early adulthood exhibits comparatively lower performance due to increased class overlap. Confusion matrix results indicate strong diagonal dominance in higher-performing groups, reflecting better class separability, whereas performance heatmaps confirm that top models maintain a balanced trade-off between accuracy, precision, and recall with minimal variation across different data splits. Feature importance analysis shows that higher performing models rely on a small number of dominant predictors, particularly in the middle age and geriatric groups, while more distributed feature contributions in early adulthood reduce predictive effectiveness. Therefore, the findings demonstrate that ensemble methods provide robust and consistent performance, and that age-based dataset segmentation enhances classification accuracy and model stability.

The article deals with the issues of the emergence, functioning, and political role of transit trade routes through the West Ruthenian lands in the Late Middle Ages. These routes are considered an important regional economic and geopolitical phenomenon that had long-term consequences for Ruthenian-Polish relations at that time. The work is structured according to geographical and chronological principles. It traces the emergence of the Hanseatic trading network at the mouth of the Vistula River and the establishment of ties with the Galicia–Volhynia state and its two main centers, Volodymyr and Lviv. The geography of each of the four known Hanseatic trade routes to them and the range of traded goods are identified. New chronological frameworks for dating the main source on this issue, the Toruń customs list, are proposed. Using the example of the trade wars in the 1340s by the Polish king Casimir III, additional justification is provided for why his expansion towards Ruthenian lands should be dated from 1349 rather than 1340. An attempt has been made to date three trade seals from Tournai found in Halych on the basis of the chronology of stable activity on the Hanseatic- Ruthenian routes. A review of the potential route of the “Tatar Road” during the 14th century was conducted, taking into account the latest archaeological and numismatic findings. The continuity of the Central European routes since Early Middle Ages was noted. Using this example, the duality of the trade policy of Polish kings regarding West Ruthenian routes in the 15th century is demonstrated: limiting their previous export capabilities in foreign markets and directing them towards the development of the southern lands of the Polish Kingdom. The context of the formation of the “Wallachian Road” was reviewed. For the first time, the 1469 Lustration of Royal Estates is used to reconstruct the Ruthenian section of this route and characterize its source potential in the study of regional trade. A conclusion is made about the somewhat deterministic external economic conditions that had a significant impact on the political consequences of the functioning of these routes.

Several studies have found that people with functional seizures (FS) have increased mortality, approaching that of epilepsy (epileptic seizures [ES]). The small numbers of deaths in these studies make it unclear whether they can be attributed to comorbidities. We used a very large electronic health database to compare mortality in FS and ES, controlling for comorbidity. We searched the TriNetX database for people with FS and no ES, people with ES and no FS, and people with neither FS nor ES (NS). We compared mortality while controlling for demographics and comorbid conditions. We identified 1 916 787 people with ES, 32 854 people with FS, and 21 053 667 healthy controls. FS had rates of mental and physical comorbidities that were higher than NS and, for most categories, higher than ES. The risk of death (hazard ratio [HR]) in ES compared to FS was 2.99 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.81-3.18), which was reduced to 2.07 (95% CI = 1.92-2.24) when matched for 31 demographic and health factors. The risk of death in NS compared to FS was .56 (95% CI = .53-.59); after matching for demographics and mood disorders, this was .48 (95% CI = .44-.53). Matched sensitivity analyses suggest this was particularly pronounced in the year following diagnosis (HR = .39, 95% CI = .33-.47) and in the 5th decade of life (HR = .38, 95% CI = .27-.52). FS confers approximately doubled mortality over that conferred by its comorbidities, although still only half of that conferred by ES, most prominently after diagnosis and in early middle age.

This article analyzes written sources related to the trade and economic relations of Tokharistan in the early medieval period from the perspective of source studies. The author examines various groups of sources that reflect the history and economic life of Tokharistan, including Chinese dynastic chronicles and Buddhist travel accounts, Arab-Persian historical and geographical works, local and regional written traditions (Sogdian, Turkic, Armenian, and Byzantine), as well as Indian and Tibetan sources. The article provides a scholarly analysis of information contained in these sources regarding the geographical location of Tokharistan, its political structure, urban network, transit trade routes, and economic resources. Special attention is given to issues related to toponyms, ethnonyms, distance measurements, and problems of transcription found in historical texts. The study concludes that during the early medieval period Tokharistan functioned as an important transit region located at the crossroads of international trade routes connecting Central Asia, India, and Iran. The author emphasizes that a comparative source-based analysis of different groups of sources is of significant scholarly importance for reconstructing the trade and economic relations of Tokharistan.

This article examines the historical development of religious and secular educational institutions in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan between 1800 and 1917. Drawing on historical sources, the study demonstrates that educational institutions have existed in Azerbaijan, including Karabakh, since the early Middle Ages. In the early stages, education was predominantly organized within religious institutions such as mosques and madrasahs. Over time, particularly during the period of the developed Middle Ages, these institutions gradually evolved and expanded their educational activities. Until the early nineteenth century, most educational establishments functioned under the supervision of madrasahs and local religious figures such as mullahs. Beginning in the nineteenth century, however, significant reforms were introduced to modernize the educational system. New school regulations were adopted, and secular educational models gradually began to replace traditional religious schooling. A considerable part of the educational network in the Karabakh region was concentrated in the city of Shusha, which became an important educational and cultural center. Based on contemporary historical sources, the article analyzes the transformation of the regional education system and the transition from predominantly religious schooling to secular educational institutions.

An open area excavation was undertaken at Loak Farm, Bankfoot, Perth and Kinross in 2019 in advance of a borrow pit being opened to supply stone for work on the A9 dualling project. The excavation uncovered seven roundhouses, eight four-post structures, two six-post structures, two ring ditches, an oval post-built structure, a lightweight post-built structure, a post- and post-trench structure, and numerous isolated pits and groups of pits. Radiocarbon dating places the majority of these features in the Late Bronze Age and IronAge, indicating that the site was a fairly extensive settlement of later prehistoric date. A small assemblage of pottery and coarse stone tools was recovered; the stone tools indicated some limited craftworking activities were taking place at the site.Several features, including a corn-drying kiln and possible field oven, and pits containing ironsmithing evidence, returned dates in the very early medieval period, indicating some reuse of the settlement into the second half of the first millennium AD.

To quantify anterior chamber depth (ACD) changes and identify associated determinants in individuals with good-corrected visual acuity. In a retrospective single‑centre cohort, participants attending a combined health and eye screening programme underwent same‑day biometry, anthropometry and routine haematology. For each participant, the annual ACD change (mm/year) was estimated as the individual-linear regression slope. The cross-sectional age–ACD relationship was characterised with restricted cubic splines and a single-knot piecewise model. Associations between annual ACD change and baseline characteristics were evaluated using ordinal logistic regression across quartiles of the slopes. A total of 2,247 participants (median age at baseline visit 52.7 years) with 10,869 visits over a median follow-up of 4.9 years were analysed. The median annual ACD change was − 1.11 × 10⁻² mm/year (interquartile range − 2.04 × 10⁻² to − 0.24 × 10⁻²). The piecewise model identified a knot at 51.3 years, with estimated ACD narrowing of − 1.52 × 10⁻² mm/year at ages ≤ 51.3 and − 0.91 × 10⁻² mm/year at > 51.3 (both P < 0.001). Ordinal models showed that younger age and shorter body height were associated with faster ACD narrowing (both P < 0.05). ACD narrowing progressed more steeply until approximately 51 years of age, with a trend toward relatively faster narrowing in shorter individuals. These findings suggest that structural predisposition to angle-closure is largely established by early middle age and support targeted monitoring and preventive strategies in middle-aged, shorter adults. Shallow anterior chamber depth is a major anatomical risk factor for primary angle-closure disease; however, longitudinal evidence on anterior chamber depth narrowing is limited. Anterior chamber depth narrows relatively faster at younger ages and the rate of narrowing slows after approximately 51 years. Younger age and shorter body height are associated with faster anterior chamber depth narrowing. Structural predisposition to angle-closure appears to be largely established by early middle age.

The brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) once inhabited the Atlas Mountains in North Africa. Based on a traveler’s description, H. Schinz, 19th-century naturalists described a new species, Ursus crowtheri Schinz, 1844, whose existence was soon questioned. This study presents a metric characterization of the fossil Atlas brown bear using both published and new data from Moroccan archaeological sites. The analysis focuses on phalanges and metapodials, which are more frequently preserved, and compares them with Holocene specimens from the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain) and the Zagros Mountains (Iran). Results suggest that the Atlas bear had relatively short and robust paws, partially supporting historical descriptions. No significant size difference was found between Late Pleistocene specimens and Holocene ones, although the number of Pleistocene elements is too low to draw any firm conclusions. New direct radiocarbon dating of remains from Kehf el-Hammar and Hattab II confirms a temporal range spanning the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene. Osteological evidence shows that brown bears were present in North Africa until at least the early Middle Ages. Although some aspects of Crowther’s testimony remain unverifiable, his description is fairly consistent with osteological and ecological data. This suggests that the last brown bears of the Maghreb may have survived longer and been better known to local populations than previously assumed.

Abstract. Since the Late Holocene, human activities have fundamentally altered fluvial systems across central European catchments, driving a gradual transition from natural to human-dominated floodplains. The Wiesent River catchment in northern Bavaria, Germany, provides a low-mountain-range case study to investigate this transformation within the conceptual framework of the “fluvial anthroposphere”. Despite its long settlement history, the catchment remained predominantly rural, allowing the assessment of cumulative anthropogenic impacts beyond major urban or industrial centres. Here, we combine a comprehensive multidisciplinary review with first geoscientific investigations to evaluate human–environmental interactions in the Wiesent River catchment. The review synthesizes environmental, archaeological, and historical evidence to reconstruct natural conditions, settlement dynamics, and human-induced sediment dynamics. Complementary first geoscientific field and laboratory investigations include electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and sedimentological analyses of percussion drill cores to characterize floodplain stratigraphy and sedimentary floodplain architecture. The results reveal a characteristic floodplain stratigraphy comprising basal organic-rich deposits and peat, locally intercalated gravel layers, and up to 3 m of homogenous silty to loamy overbank deposits. This succession reflects a shift from Early Holocene wetland conditions towards sustained overbank deposition likely to be primarily driven by intensified land use, deforestation, grazing, and hydrotechnical installations since, at the latest, the Early Middle Ages. The close correspondence between the review and first empirical findings demonstrates the suitability of the Wiesent River floodplain as a high-resolution archive of human-induced fluvial change.

The villa of Aiano – IV c. - mid-V c. A.D.- shows a monumental and sophisticated architectural and planimetric planning as the sole archaeological evidence of its past. Such evidence bears witness to a prestigious residential phase, which was metabolised in the Early Middle Ages through the transformation of the site into a quarry for building material with an adjacent estate, hosting workshops for artisans. Aside from the villa’s plan, archaeologists are slowly putting together what survived from the existing decoration. This complex operation has brought to light rich and refined materials: marble inlays for the floors, wall paintings imitating opus sectile, mosaics made with stone and opaque or transparent glass-paste tiles, covered in gold leaf. And again, traces of stuccoed architectural decorations and glass-paste sectilia sea-life-themed, which are traceable to Alexandrine workshops for the technique and style displayed. Pearls and pendants too are proof of wealth and elegant taste. All of these data come from fragmented while highly indicative disiecta membra. Their analysis provides a picture of Aiano’s villa as a highly prestigious site not only within the region, but also in the Tirreno coastal area, probably due to direct links of the area with Rome. For instance, the wide use of glass paste sectilia - a luxury provincial product, imported as pre-made and assembled on site – counts over 2000 fragments retrieved, catalogued and restored until 2023. Such extensive use shows how vital and high were the cultural and economic standards of this part of inner Tuscany between the fourth and fifth century A.D.

ABSTRACT This paper explores the part played by social class and age in the retailing and consumption of men’s clothes in English provincial towns in the decades leading up to the First World War, making use of the business records of two contrasted small-scale retailers. The firms had more in common than might be supposed in terms of the social backgrounds of their customers and class boundaries were far from rigid when it came to the kinds of shops that men patronised. The findings reveal a nuanced picture of consumption. Many middle-class men purchased more of a mixture of formal and relaxed styles than might be expected from a class-specific trend towards relaxed and versatile clothing and men from the lower middle and working-classes often invested a lot in their attire compared with upper middle-class professionals. Finely tailored clothes seem to have had declining utility and lower priority for middle-class men after early middle age, and to have been far less affordable for working-class men as their earning capacity declined. At the opposite end of the age spectrum, purchasing by some young men suggests that economic dependence, as well as class, could be a factor in excessive consumption.

The issue of land use is currently commonly taken up by researchers in many aspects, e.g., geography, GIS or related sciences. However, the research gap occurs in the historical, partial reconstruction of the old agricultural and natural realities. The main objective of this article is to determine potential and actual places that were most useful for agriculture in the Early Middle Ages and to present human pressure on the natural environment. The results were developed in the form of colorful models that were generated on the basis of the following parameters: slope, river network, settlement, landscape and climate-vegetation belts. As a result, after summing up the above-mentioned maps, a new model was created, which was properly analyzed in terms of geoarchaeology in relation to early-medieval hillforts and the soil map in southern Małopolska. This article illustrates methods that can support broader interdisciplinary research in other regions of Europe (e.g., Italy) and the delimitation of medieval administrative borders.

Review: <i>In the Manner of the Franks: Hunting, Kingship, and Masculinity in Early Medieval Europe</i> , by Eric J. Goldberg

ABSTRACT This paper presents the first long-term, multi-period analysis of riverine deposition within the Middle Thames, focusing on the period c. 2200 BC to 1100 AD. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 2,337 river finds, it investigates patterning in the selection and distribution of deposited objects, with particular emphasis on weapons, tools, and martial objects. This study identifies significant regional and chronological variation, as well as patterns of long-term behavioural continuity, including the dominance of spearheads across the Bronze Age and Early Medieval periods, and a restructuring of depositional practices, avoiding martial associations, in the Roman period. In addition to compositional changes, this paper highlights the variable physical and mental geography of the Middle Thames Valley, identifying an evolving relationship between key crossing points, socio-political authority and emerging religious ideas. Methodologically, the study applies a novel raster-based approach within GIS to integrate both high and low-resolution spatial data, offering a new framework for interpreting riverine assemblages recovered without precise provenance. In doing so, it demonstrates that while the underlying logic dictating riverine deposition in the past may remain elusive, patterns of change and continuity are clearly discernible, revealing the Middle Thames as a dynamic and enduring ritual landscape shaped by sustained, structured deposition.

In recent years, digital technologies have become increasingly prevalent in the field of heritage protection. In addition to geomatic techniques like laser scanning (LiDAR) and Structure-from-Motion (SfM), geophysical methods, especially Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), offer added value for investigating protected buildings and objects. Additionally, chemical analysis (e.g., X-ray fluorescence, XRF) and mineral magnetic methods can be utilized to investigate specific research topics. All these methods are completely non-invasive and leave the heritage site untouched. Furthermore, they are cost-efficient and fast to use. Within this paper, we want to present an integrated study of a medieval sarcophagus in Bamberg Cathedral. The geophysical surveys via GPR and magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements should answer open questions regarding the construction and internal layout of the sandstone sarcophagus, dated to the Early or High Middle Ages. The susceptibility data indicated an inner lead coffin in the lower part behind the stone slabs due to an unusual diamagnetic response in these parts. In contrast, the GPR data gave no such indication and revealed that the interior is too small for a direct burial of the bishop. Hence, an additional XRF survey was conducted to help solve this contradiction. The latter data indicate that the lead could be due to remains of a former painting on the sarcophagus with colours containing lead white pigments. Due to the porous sandstone, the moist environmental conditions, and the high weight of the lead elements, these could have accumulated at the bottom of the sarcophagus, creating the diamagnetism detected by the magnetic susceptibility measurements.

In recent years, numerous studies have been carried out on the landscape of the 5th-15th centuries in Catalonia. When studying settlement, we will assess research on the morphogenesis of villages and highlight differences across regions. We will also see the characteristics of the hamlets of the Early Middle Ages and those of the Pyrenean lands. Farmsteads, which were made up of a house and some land that depended on it, were a fundamental element of the landscape of many regions of Catalonia. To understand the characteristics of the agricultural areas, we will be interested in the concentric shapes and coaxial strips. Furthermore, to understand the landscape of the regions of Lleida and Tortosa, we must understand the transformations that occurred in the Islamic era and the diffusion of ditches and irrigated spaces. Likewise, we will examine the relationship we discover between the coombs and the first medieval settlements and necropolises. It is also important to determine when and why the terraces were built. This study will address the evolution of the landscape throughout Catalonia, with special emphasis on the most recent contributions relating to the regions of Barcelona and Lleida. This research has been based primarily on the study of written documents and the analysis of what is preserved on the ground, which we can learn about above all through aerial photographs.

ABSTRACT Cremation became the dominant funerary practice in the Middle Danube Region during the Roman Period (RP) (1st–4th century) and reappeared in the Early Medieval Ages (EMA) (6th/7th–8th century). This study aims to reconstruct differences in cremation conditions from the Gbely‐Kojatín site (Slovakia, RP and EMA) and the Přítluky site (Czech Republic, EMA) through FTIR‐ATR (IRSF, C/C, OH/P, and BPI) and carbon and oxygen isotope (δ 13 C and δ 18 O) analyses of cremated remains. The findings suggest that Gbely‐Kojatín (RP) exhibited higher levels of heat intensity and more controlled practices, whereas Přítluky revealed lower levels of heat intensity with greater variability. Gbely‐Kojatín (EMA) exhibited intermediate values, indicating potential deviations or alternative cremation strategies. Results demonstrate that technological differences in cremation between sites and periods were shaped primarily by ritual and pyre management, rather than environmental factors.

This study focuses on microstructure, chemistry, and patina characterisation of eleven archaeological bronze artefacts from two contexts of the Middle Tiber Valley (Viterbo, Central Italy). The samples were unearthed in the cistern at Spoletino (1st -4th century AD) and in the late Roman-early Medieval necropolis of Castel Sozzio (5th-7th century AD). They were analysed using optical microscopy (OM), micro-Raman spectroscopy (µ-Raman), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and electrochemical investigations. OM explored corrosion products on the surfaces, highlighting mineralogical and structural heterogeneity of the patinas. SEM-EDS analysis showed the presence of binary (Cu-Sn) and ternary (Cu-Pb-Sn) alloys with minor and trace elements. The binary alloys were used for good hardness artefacts, and the ternary ones for those that required easy metal working. Selective enrichment and depletion of the alloying metals produced broad chemical variations and structural heterogeneity in the patinas. Micro-Raman spectroscopy revealed different corrosion products such as cuprite (Cu2O), lazurite (Na7Ca(Al6Si6O24)(SO4)(S3)·H2O), malachite (CuCO3Cu(OH)2), and phosgenite (Pb2Cl2CO3). The presence of lazurite in two samples was linked to sulphur-rich burial environments, while phosgenite was linked to the interactions with Cl and a CO2-rich burial environment. Metallurgical practices, such as slow cooling rates and lead segregation during casting, promoted mineralogical and structural heterogeneity in the patinas due to interactions with the burial environment, where decomposition of organic matter occurred. Electrochemical data permitted the estimation of the corrosion rates for all artefacts at remarkably low levels (0–0.1 mm/year), reflecting stable burial conditions and the protective nature of the patinas. These results suggest that the burial environments in the Middle Tiber Valley were non-aggressive, facilitating the development of layered patinas influenced primarily by oxygen and carbon dioxide from humus-rich soils, with a lesser contribution from salts.

The aim of this research is to identify the features of thinking in border spaces based on specific historical material (the Roman-Iranian borderlands, 1st century BC – early 7th century AD). This work is dedicated to studying the historical experience of the formation of thinking among residents of the border regions of the Ancient and Iranian civilizations. An investigation of sources and historiography leads to the conclusion that specific features exist within the mental sphere of representatives of such regions. In particular, the conceptualization of historical document case studies, combined with a comparative approach carried out within the framework of mid-level philosophy, has revealed that residents of the frontier – in this case, the Roman-Iranian frontier of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages – possessed more highly developed synthetic thinking than representatives of civilizational cores. It is also important to note the significant role of the individual in the course of historical processes in the borderlands compared to other territories. The novelty of the research lies in the very framing of the question regarding the processes of formation, development, and influence of a specific type of thinking on the existence of border (transboundary) spaces in history, as well as the reverse process, resulting in new scientific knowledge about thinking in transboundary spaces. As a result of the study, it was established that the thinking of the ancient frontier is characterized not only by syncreticity but also by syntheticity. This is considered by the authors as part of a comprehensive theory of border (transboundary) regions in historical retrospect.