In recent years a considerable amount of research work has been dedicated to the study of pre-modern craft production systems. Based on the current state of research and the interdisciplinary perspectives of the Research Training Group 1878 ’Archaeology of Pre-ModernEconomies‘ we invited specialists from various archaeological sub-disciplines to present papers on the structure and spatial organization of craft production systems and the social contexts of various crafts. One objective of our conference was to discuss these aspects in a cross-cultural perspective.