ABSTRACT
Vast improvements over the last decade or two have resulted in better-documented pre-Neolithic sites in the Mediterranean. One primary improvement is simply the addition of excavation data to support claims that had been based on surveys alone. While excavations are still all too rare, they have been more frequent in the recent past. Excavation data will always be more secure than surface survey and collection information alone. It is only through excavation that some of the methodological issues addressed in Chapter 4 can be resolved. Broadly speaking, recent years also have seen more systematic investigations, be they surveys or excavations. No longer are a few collected surface specimens considered adequate for demonstrating antiquity. Many methodological refinements have been developed and are adding greater credibility to the claims of pre-Neolithic sites. Dating, of course, remains an issue, especially for sites beyond the scope of radiocarbon dating (i.e., over ca. 50,000 years ago). Nonetheless, several chronological developments have contributed to such “deep-time” studies, and these are beginning to address the substantial chronological issues on the islands. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, researchers looking for early sites are now much better trained and qualified in “small site archaeology,” and many of the previous intellectual and methodological blinders that once existed are being eroded away. By way of concluding remarks, let’s look at some of these and other issues to assess the “state-of-the-art” status of early seafaring in the early 21st century. These topics will undoubtedly serve as major research questions to be addressed by future studies in the Mediterranean and elsewhere.
