ABSTRACT
During the Neolithic, people were beginning to settle in the Aegean Islands and experience an entirely new way of life that is based on cultivated crops and domesticated animals. The oldest aceramic Neolithic layer, Stratum X, is found at Knossos, Crete. The ‘Neolithic package’ is already fully developed. Early Neolithic settlement can be found on the northern and eastern Aegean Islands. Clay vessels as well as domesticated animals and cultivated plants are now evidenced. The main sites from the Middle Neolithic are the Cave of Cyclope on Youra and Ayios Petros off Kyra Panagia island. Among notable finds are clay figurines, beads and stone tools. During the Late and Final Neolithic, most of the Aegean Islands are settled permanently for the first time. The two best known cultural groups are the Saliagos culture (Late Neolithic) and the Attica-Kephala culture (Final Neolithic). Saliagos settlement (off Antiparos) is well known for an impressive range of stone and clay figurines, most notably ‘The Fat Lady of Saliagos’. In addition to cereals, pulses and sheep, the inhabitants specialised in the hunting of tuna. Kephala on Kea has the earliest extramural cemetery. Other important sites are Zas Cave on Naxos, Ftelia on Mykonos and Strofilas on Andros. The latter has rock carvings of ships and other maritime activities that speak to the ethos of seafaring and regular interaction between islands and regions. Obsidian from Melos is distributed widely across the Aegean Islands and was probably extracted by itinerant traders, rather than specialists. Metallurgy appears for the first time, being sourced locally from Lavrion and Siphnos.
