This special issue of Geoarchaeology represents a collection of papers presented at the 5th Developing International Geoarchaeology (DIG) conference, which was held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee from September 20 to 24, 2011. By bringing together international researchers, the DIG conference is designed to promote interdisciplinary geoarchaeological research. The specific goals of the 2011 DIG conference were to (1) explore current and innovative geoarchaeological methods and techniques; (2) discuss the challenges in applying these techniques to various geographical and archaeological settings; and (3) examine the application of Earth Science methodologies to broad anthropological questions. The papers presented in this special issue approach these goals at multiple scales of analysis, which range from the molecular to landscape level reconstructions. Integral to research design and implementation, concepts of scale, both tacit and explicit, have been incorporated into discussions concerning geoarchaeological and archaeological method and theory (Stein, 1993; Lock & Molyneaux, 2006; Bateman, Ayala, & Wainwright, 2011). Stein (1993) addressed the difficulties geoarchaeologists face employing analytical methods developed within Earth Sciences to address anthropological questions focused at the scale of human experience. Since then, a great deal of work has been done to bridge the gap between large spatial and temporal scale methodologies and fine-scale interpretations. In particular, concerns over the impacts of changing climates on modern populations have resulted in a greater need within the geoscientific community to understand the effects of Earth processes at the societal level (Parry et al., 2007; Solomon et al., 2007). As an interdisciplinary field, geoarchaeology has benefited greatly from the increased overlap in the interpretative scales of the geosciences and anthropology (Wilson, 2011; Simonneau et al., 2013; Tolksdorf et al., 2013; Zwertvaegher et al., 2013). The interdisciplinary nature of geoarchaeological studies allows us to operate at a variety of scales that are incorporated into anthropological research designs during both the data acquisition and interpretation phases (Stein, 1993:3). The different scales at which the articles in this special issue approach data acquisition testify to the range of interdisciplinary methods that can contribute to archaeological research by providing multiple independent lines of evidence. Drawing on disciplines such as chemistry, biology, ecology, pedology, and geomorphology, the methodological approaches presented here span from molecular bonds, micromorphology, and phytoliths to the large-scale analysis of pedologic horizons and alluvial systems. While the methods employed determine the scale at which observations are made, the research questions addressed define the scales at which the archaeological record is interpreted. The authors featured in this special issue approach their interpretations at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, from site to landscape level reconstructions and short to long term occupations.