Plantation sites, particularly those in the southeastern United States, have long dominated the archaeological study of slavery. These antebellum estates, however, do not represent the wide variety of geographic and temporal contexts in which slavery has occurred in human history. As archaeologists begin to investigate slavery in settings as diverse as contact-period Philippine chiefdoms and ancient Rome, the need for a broader interpretive framework has never been more apparent. The goals of the 2012 CAI Visiting Scholar Conference are (1) to develop an interregional and cross-temporal framework for the archaeological interpretation of slavery and (2) to promote a diachronic approach to the topic, extending from before the moment of capture to beyond emancipation.