Taking a broad perspective (from Palaeolithic to Post-Medieval and from pottery to metals) the contributors to this volume discuss the social organiztion of craft production in the past. Was there a trend towards increasing specialization as the complexity of the objects manufactured increased? What was the role of patronage in encouraging the growth of specialisms? These are all questions addressed in this volume of papers originally presented at the 3rd Meeting of the EAA, Ravenna 1997.