During the last ice age, Neanderthals used a small cave in the Iberian peninsula to accumulate the skulls of ancient bison and other large mammals, some of which were associated with small hearths. Baquedano and colleagues suggest that this was a symbolic practice, with the skulls possibly being kept as hunting trophies.

See Baquedano et al.

The spread of new technologies has been a driving force for cultural evolution. Until recently, relatively little was known about the spread of innovation among ancient hunter-gatherers. Analysis of pottery made and used by hunter-gatherers in northeastern Europe in the sixth millennium BC supports the existence of super-regional networks that enabled cultural transmission long before the arrival of farming.

See Dolbunova et al. See also News & Views by Shennan

The killing of Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered widespread protests in Iran that have been met with extreme, violent suppression by the Iranian regime. Ms Constitution, a female Iranian scientist whose identity is protected by publishing pseudonymously, provides a first-hand account of the harsh, dehumanizing realities behind the slogan that is most chanted by protesting Iranians: ‘Woman, life, liberty’. The international academic community cannot — and should not — be a mere observer of what is happening in Iran. Ms Constitution explains we can support Iranian academics and Iranian people’s ongoing fight for human rights.

See Ms Constitution See also Editorial