ABSTRACT
The concept of agency is, as this collection of papers demonstrates, one of the most productive and exciting themes in archaeological thinking today. I want to argue in this discussion that, at heart, the idea of agency is very simple and very strong. This does not mean that, once accepted, the implications of agency for archaeological theory and practice are not very complex; and, perhaps more importantly, it does not mean that the issues agency raises for archaeological interpretation are not extremely difficult for archaeologists to resolve in a coherent or positive manner.
