The cultural aspect of the processes responsible for forming the archaeological record is argued to be an underdeveloped branch of archaeological theory. A flow model is presented by which to view the "life history" or processes of systemic context of any material element. This model accounts for the production of a substantial portion of the archaeological record. The basic processes of this model are: procurement, manufacture, use, maintenance, and discard. Refuse labels the state of an element in archaeological context. The spatial implications of the model suggest a largely untapped source of behavioral information. Differential refuse disposal patterns are examined as they affect artifact location and association. The meaning of element relative frequencies in refuse is discussed.

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Research in experimental archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, geoarchaeology, and vertebrate taphonomy has appreciably increased our general understanding of the formation processes—cultural and natural—of archaeological sites. In synthesizing some of these recent advances, this paper focuses on the traces of artifacts and characteristics of deposits that can be used to identify the formation processes of specific deposits. These observational phenomena are grouped into three basic categories that structure the presentation: (1) simple properties of artifacts, (2) complex properties of artifacts, and (3) other properties of deposits. Also considered is the way in which prior knowledge can help the archaeologist to cope with the large number of processes and the nearly infinite combination of them that may have contributed to the specific deposits of interest. Several analytical strategies are proposed: (1) hypothesis testing, (2) multivariate analysis, and (3) use of published data to evaluate formation processes. This paper demonstrates that the identification of formation processes, which must precede behavioral inference and be accomplished by any research endeavor that uses evidence from the archaeological record, can become practical and routine.

Wolski D. 20013. Early Bronze Age flint materials from Lesser Poland -their research problems and suggestions for their interpretation. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 65, 145-193. The present paper summarizes the state of research of the flint technology belonging to the Early Bronze Age in the Lesser Poland loessic areas. With the analyses of representative materials from the most important settlements, cemeteries and mines, an attempt has been made to verify the current identification criteria for the flint artefacts of the concerned period.The observations allow for the construction of a theoretical model which connects to the manufacturing of bifacial daggers and sickles as well as with the spezialization of their production. The fact that these tools were made continuously for several centuries, may be attributed to some special social mechanisms in which technology teachers played an important role. This model was based on selected conceptions of social psychology.

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