The area of theortical development that I currently find most compelling is concerned with consumer behavior (i.e.processes of choice) and its role in creating/maintaining complex social identities. Admittedly this area of theory is not strictly archaeological, but it has great promise for archaeologists. In this I include the works such as Pieire Bourdieu (1984, _Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste_. Harvard U. Press, Cambridge), Daniel Miller (1987, _Material Culture and Mass Consumption_. Blackwell, New York), and Grant McCracken (1990, _Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Sybolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activites_. Indiana University Press, Bloomington). It is particularly interesting that this theme is also "hot" among certain historians. See Ann Smart Martin's 1993 article in _Winterthur Portfolio_ (28(2/3):141-57) "Makers, Buyers, and Users: Consumerism as a Material Culture Framework" for a very insightful review of the literature. She takes the position that "consumerism" can be the central theory for material culture research. John P. McCarthy Senior Archaeologist/Historian Institute for Minnesota Archaeology/ IMA Consulting, Inc. ----------End of Original Message----------