This second edition of the multi-volume work goes beyond the comprehensive and systematic coverage of archaeology that appears in the first edition. The field of archaeology continues to grow and the collaborations between archaeologists and researchers in other areas - environmental studies, landscape studies, art history, demography, biomedicine, chemistry, museum specialists, etc. - continues to grow. This second edition will build on the massive collection of information and research from the first edition by adding new entries as well as updating the existing entries. The entries in this encyclopedia range from succinct summaries of specific sites and the scientific aspects of archaeological enquiry to detailed discussions of archaeological concepts, theories and methods, and from investigations into the social, ethical and political dimensions of archaeological practice to biographies of leading archaeologists from throughout the world. The different forms of archaeology are explored, along with the techniques used for each and the challenges, concerns and issues that face archaeologists today. This compendium is both a print reference and an online reference work. The encyclopedia’s second major innovation is that it harnesses the capabilities of an online environment, enhancing both the presentation and dissemination of information. Most particularly, the continuous updating allowed by an online environment should ensure that the Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology is a definitive reference work for archaeology and archaeologists.