The archaeology of ontology is a rapidly growing area. A recent review of the field by Ben Alberti (Annual Review of Anthropology 45:163–179) identifies two distinct approaches: a metaphysical approach and an anthropological approach. From the evidence of this book it is becoming clear that these approaches cleave to either side of the Atlantic, with the metaphysical approach being the domain of European archaeologists, while the anthropological approach is most certainly an American development.

The contributions to this book are uniformly thought-provoking, and the editors should be congratulated for their work in bringing this excellent collection together. The book begins with two great discussions of relational geographies in the Arctic, from Erica Hill and Peter Whitridge. Both contributions discuss the relationship between humans and animals, a growing field of inquiry in anthropology and human/cultural geography—in Hill's case, an analysis of the spaces occupied by animals in relation to those of humans; in Whitridge's case, an analysis of the role of a particular animal species: the dog.

The next group of contributions focus on the agency of materials. Matthew Colvin and Victor D. Thompson discuss the remarkable wooden masks of southern Floridan peoples. They develop a relational analysis of the movement of masks that neatly avoids the pitfalls of a biographical approach, from wood carving to the circulation of masks in ceremonial contexts to the role of masks in broader themes of transformation. Melissa Baltus discusses Cahokian pottery making—particularly Ramey incised jars—arguing that pottery is one part of the set of relationships that make up Cahokia. Again, she discusses how pots participate in the forging of relationships at every level, from their manufacture to their deposition as offerings.

The last two contributions offer a wider perspective. Christina Halperin discusses Maya spiritualities and materialities over the longue durée, focusing on the Classical pyramid at Cerro Mo’, Tayasal, Mexico. Her narrative interweaves a series of scales and temporalities, from the everyday to the commemorative and long-term. Neatly, she shows that relational engagements changed, and persisted, over considerable durations as the pyramid was reclaimed by the forest and was eventually encountered as a “living mountain.”

Christopher Carr, Heather Smyth, and Brianna Rafidi survey the soul beliefs of historic Woodland and Plains Indian ontologies. Their exhaustive analysis seeks to demonstrate both the importance of the soul as a motivational force and the diversity of soul beliefs in their chosen region of analysis. By doing so, they argue that the Hopewellian Interaction Sphere cannot be treated as a single homogeneous unit with a single set of beliefs concerning the soul. This chapter makes some important points regarding the absence of an emphasis on the soul in many archaeological and anthropological analyses, as opposed to the prevailing focus on the social or the material. Despite its strengths, this essay concludes just as it was beginning to get interesting—just as it was on the verge of exploring the implication of soul beliefs in Hopewell material. If we can no longer assume a unified set of Hopewellian ontologies, how are we to explain the Hopewell phenomenon?

Several of the chapters in this collection feel like the beginnings of fruitful new avenues of research. Peter Whitridge describes his contribution on dogs in the Arctic as a “tentative first step in thinking about the ontological divide between a diverse group of humans and a diverse group of non-human animals” (p. 33). Likewise, Halperin's contribution seems to be an example of working through some interesting ideas for a recently excavated group of sites and materials. At several junctures I felt that greater dialogue with the metaphysical ontological discussions taking place in Europe might have lent extra heft to these mostly anthropologically derived debates. This is not to decry what is an impressive collection of essays, which will be an important touchstone for ontologically minded researchers on either side of the Atlantic. The provisional nature of some of the discussions in this collection should not be viewed as evidence of a lack of confidence in the material. Instead it signals an eagerness to tackle challenging new paths for research. From the evidence of this book I suspect that the future of American archaeology and anthropology will be moving toward a greater focus on questions of an ontological character; this book acts as a signpost and way-marker for this important new direction.