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An excellent overview of what it is that archaeologists do and have done is
The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. It ranges widely from the expected (Giza,
Easter Island and so forth) to the unexpected (archaeology in science fiction),
via some helpful, intelligent entries. Try this: “The term post-processual was
first used by Ian Hodder in 1985. Since then few writers have used it to define
their own work. It has become more regularly used in criticism, enabling quite
diverse approaches to be caricatured before being dismissed. Such rhetoric
avoids detailed engagement with a complex and wide ranging program of ideas and
creates a false coherency.” Published by Oxford University Press, edited by
Brian Fagan, £30/$55, ISBN 0 19 5076 18 4.