The 8th annual meeting of the EAA held in Thessaloniki in 2002 provided a forum for academic debate on the significance of mans relationship with his environment on the archaeology of certain regions of Europe. In particular, the contributors assess how this relationship affected settlement systems and the economy, the use of rivers for communication and as a border between communities, and the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the evolution of river valleys. The ten papers included case studies from the Guadiana Menor River Valley in southeast Spain, South Picenum in Italy, Hungary, Poland, the Black Sea coast and Russia. All papers in English.