This Reader in Archaeological Theory presents sixteen articles of key theoretical significance, in a format which makes this notoriously complex area easier for students to understand.
This volume:
* provides an intellectual history of different approaches to archaeology which contextualizes the complex traditions of cognitive archaeology and postprocessualism on which it focuses
* organizes theories of archaeology, the meanings of things, the prehistoric mind and cognition, gender, ideology and social theory and archaeology's relationship to today's society and politics
* includes lucid section introductions to each section which provide context, explain why the papers are so significant and summarize their key points
* emphasizes research from the 'New World', making archaeological theory especially relevant and accessible to students in North America.

Whitley has selected a fine series of articles to demonstrate both the range and the limitations of postprocessual archaeology, and he provides an excellent introduction to each section of the volume. Although this book will be of greatest interest to specialists and students of archaeology, much of the book's content is accessible to nonarchaeologists. In fact, it might be a good volume to scan for those who still somehow believe that archaeology is just digging for treasure from the past. Certainly, readers will come away with an understanding that archaeology needs to be both scientific and humanistic.
- The Key Reporter
David Whitley has assembled a very fine guide to the ideas that are changing archaeology. This book shows that we have surmounted the limitations of the new archaeology by presenting a colorful variety of new and older scholars who contribute to understanding mind and meaning from past cultures..
-Mark Leone, University of Maryland, USA

David S. Whitley is the US representative of ICOMOS and lectures at UCLA. He is an internationally acclaimned expert on rock art, on which he has published widely.