This volume presents the proceedings of the 45th international congress of the AFEAF, held in Gijón (Asturias, Spain) from 13th to 15th May 2021. The aim of this congress was to offer a new state of research on the study of protohistoric societies through the analysis of their modes of exploitation, transformation and diffusion of raw materials and derived finished products. More broadly, the goal was to bring together, around this vast topic, a range of disciplines from highly specialised fields, in order to provide a broad and renewed overview of the diversity of protohistoric practices and of the methods currently used to characterise and analyse them. This book brings together 43 contributions, organized into three thematic sections, which provide an updated framework for European research from the Atlantic coast to the heart of the Celtic world. The papers focusing on the exploitation and consumption of raw materials as well as the characterisation of production chains and the dissemination of materials, finished products and associated practices have highlighted the importance of technological approaches to better understand the production systems and lifestyles of ancient societies. By broadening the geographical framework, and thanks to the diversity of the integrated approaches developed here, this volume attests not only to the strong potential of the study of raw materials in the socio-cultural study of ancient societies, but also to the emergence of new research dynamics on an international scale.