The main trend in archaeology in the 1970s, "processual archaeology," was shaped according to the model of the natural sciences. This trend was later challenged by a "post-processual" archaeology that preferred to follow the broader perspectives of history and social anthropology, insisting that the context of relationships and the meaning of behavior should be taken into account, as well as that those who practice archaeology should recognize its ideological uses. Ian Hodder, a central figure in the new movement, argues in this book that when interpreting the behavior of past societies, we must combine an interest in the symbolic framework with the study of both ecological constraints and economic and social processes. This leads to the treatment of systemic theory and structuralist and Marxist approaches in archaeology. Post-processual archaeology is socially engaged and polyphonic: because if material remains can be considered as texts in some way, then they allow for multiple and divergent readings. Hodder believes that archaeologists must reconcile various perspectives if they want to respond to their complex and uncertain task: "to translate the meaning of past texts into their contemporary language."