This very short introduction reflects the enduring popularity of archaeology - a subject which appeals as a pastime, career and academic discipline, encompasses the whole globe, and surveys 2.5 million years. From deserts to jungles, from deep caves to mountain-tops, from pebble tools to satellite photographs, from excavation to abstract theory, archaeology interacts with nearly every other discipline in its attempts to reconstruct the past. This book looks at the main concerns and methods of archaeology today, and points towards the challenges of the future.