Archaeological discontinuities in the southern hemisphere: A working agenda

We finish by selecting a few issues that we consider worthy of systematic comparative attention in the years to come. These issues impinge on different levels of theory and methods and can only be pursued with an interdisciplinary focus that encompasses not only archaeology but also ethnography, genetics, linguistics, paleoclimatology and paleoecology. We are convinced that there is much to learn from a comparative perspective in terms of structural similitudes in historical processes across regions and continents. The conceptual structure of a number of debates from South America, Africa, and Australia on is remarkably similar, notwithstanding important differences in terms of chronology and tempo. We look forward to international joint endeavors such as this one that help to formalize questions and data-collecting strategies for the southern drylands and beyond.