"In a collection of papers spanning       some 20 years of work, Steward argues persuasively that cultural change       consists of complex, continuing processes, rather than isolable acts or       events of unitary character ('diffusion'  versus 'independent invention')....       With the increasing preponderance of studies of cultural change in archaeology       as well as anthropology this volume assumes as much importance for the prehistorian       as for the student of contemporary societies."       -- American Antiquity