Synopsis The theoretical issues which have been considered in the present volume are the changing perspectives in Indian archaeology, diffusion an explanatory model, archaeology-literature correlation, geographical approaches, the study of prehistory, transition to foodproduction and urbanisation, agriculture, metallurgy and trade. The author's discussion of these issues (done in a course of eight seminars under the auspices of Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris) is both stimulating and original, and constitutes a significant addition to the south Asian archaeological literature.