Desert Peoples: Archaeological Perspectives provides an overview of hunter-gatherers in desert landscapes. Written by an international roster of experts, this volumeexamines the key concepts vital to understanding human adaptation to marginal environments and the behavioral and belief systems that underpin these concepts. Desert Peoples brings together studies from deserts as diverse as the sand dunes of Australia, the US Great Basin, the coastal and high altitude deserts of South America, and the core deserts of Africa. Ultimately, Desert Peoples' comparative approach profiles current understandings and debates about cultural and ecological processes affecting hunter-gatherer societies in deserts.

Peter Veth is Director of Research at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra. He is the author of over 100 articles and books on the archaeology of arid zone hunter-gatherers.

Mike Smith is Director of Research and Development at the National Museum of Australia. He pioneered research into late Pleistocene settlement in the Australian desert and has worked extensively across the arid zone attempting to piece together its human and environmental history.

Peter Hiscock is a Reader in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University.