This volume is made up of essays honouring the contributions to Iranian archaeology made by William M Sumner. Topical contributions emphasize the methodological aspects of analysis of survey data, while regional contributions focus on two of the main geographical areas studied by archaeologists in Iran: the southwest and the northwest. Papers primarily concern the fifth to second millennia BCE in the southwest and the first millennium BCE in both areas. With its interdisciplinary approach, this volume is of interest to Iranists, as well as students of general ancient and modern Near Eastern studies. Several themes recur: the relations between mobile and sedentary peoples; the difficulty of identifying political or cultural boundaries; and the importance of geographical factors in understanding sociocultural phenomena.