ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 sums up what can be learned from the comparative study of Africa’s islands and what general trends, similarities, and differences are apparent among them. It also establishes the specific relevance of Africa’s islands for understanding the continent’s past as a whole and identifies how they can contribute to island archaeology in general. Issues of particular concern include the methodological contributions made by learning more about the complex interactions between climate, ecology, and human behaviour in bringing about faunal extinctions, or by identifying the most compelling forms of evidence for determining when people first reached new landmasses. In a world in which small islands face particularly severe economic, environmental, and political challenges, the sustainability of island settlement, the importance of community involvement in the practice of archaeology, the conservation of cultural heritage in all its forms, and the likely impacts of climate change are also addressed. Together, these issues provide the basis for identifying future directions of research into the comparative archaeology of Africa’s islands and for learning how their insular study can illuminate some of today’s global problems.
