ABSTRACT
Individuals play a role in the transmission of values through archaeological activity by passing on both their own values and more general values at large in society. However, the mechanisms responsible for exposing archaeological activity to society’s values are not wholly reducible to each individual’s intentions; it is contended here that the institutional arrangements which are used to manage archaeology introduce values to the decision-making process which cannot be attributed solely to the individuals making the decisions. The arguments offered here suggest that rather than acting as simple tools or conduits of decision-making, institutions are hosts to values embedded within their substance, like ghosts in a machine.
