1) What Bill D says, and Rapaire too.

2) Never underestimate past societies or examine them from your own cultural standpoint.

3) Never overestimate them either.

4) The archaeological evidence is a biased recording of a skewed distribution of chance survival. Archaeologists know how flaky it is - that's what seperates us from historians :-)

5) When in doubt, claim an interest in the New Archaelogy and pick your favourite post-processual theory - that should cover all bases.

Fibs (who teaches archaeology at University, for her sins)