Through what has been called « the material culture », archaeology is trying to recognise and interpret certain social, economic
or symbolic activities. Several research programs focus on the specific relations between cultural features, language and social
organisation. Others -mainly devoted to ceramics- concern the discussion that enliven the economic history, between quantitative
history and interpretative schemes. Being the principal source for the renewal of the historical material, archaeology appears
indeed as essential to the correct interpretation of the contexts. By overstepping the simple collection of documents and the
traditional typology with essentially chronological aims, one tries to propose a reading of the systems of production and exchanges of
material goods through time. A particular attention also goes to the cultual and funerary fields, with an attempt to caracterise the
practices and evaluate the role in the functioning of the societies that produced them.