ABSTRACT
To a certain extent, these issues overlap with those of the archaeologist, so that the division made here between the two is a little artificial. This is not the place to present a detailed discussion of the issues, nor indeed to analyse the different problems which confront historians in their efforts to understand them. On the other hand, the nature of the source material is so diffuse and diverse that some general guidance has been thought useful, and in the brief bibliography that follows we enumerate some key texts which will be of assistance in approaching the various subjects concealed under this broad rubric.
