As Herr and Harry outline in chapter 1, archaeologists have variously defined different kinds of edge regions using criteria that include demography, geographic distance, migration histories, economic relationships, and social identities. This diversity in definitions alludes to the wide variety of social experiences characterizing such social settings. In some contexts, the inhabitants of edge regions are seen as marginal members of broader social systems, with limited access to the activities and ideas marking major centers of population and culture. In other cases, the inhabitants of edges serve key roles as intermediates spanning boundaries between multiple centers of population or culture,