One of a series of books resulting from the 1986 World Archaeological Congress held in Southampton, England. The 25 articles by authors from around the world examine some of the following topics: objectivity in interpretation; the "meaning" of archaeological objects; symbolic expression; style; ritual and burial; spatial meanings. A number of the papers use the methods and concepts of semiotics. Hodder has presented the papers in a random order for post-structuralist reasons (ie to avoid imposing his own "meaning" on the diverse papers included in the volume and to encourage readers to construct their own interpretations).