This conference in honour of Randi Haaland was held in Bergen in September 2001. Although the title of the conference was ambitious, the aim was to highlight current research problems in fields where Randi Halaand has been particularly active. The current volume contains the proceedings of the conference, thus fulfilling its aims. The largest session was reserved for "Approaches in African Archaeology" since Africa is the continent where the majority of Randi Halaand's work has been conducted.