ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the key results from the earlier studies in light of the new data, starting with a revision of colonisation cumulative plot for the whole Mediterranean, and compare rates of island colonisation per period and area. Cherry's work focuses on biogeographical and cultural variables in the Mediterranean islands and highlighted some useful correlations with other island regions. It identifies cultural variables for comparative study, focusing on sites which provide good evidence for certain cultural features or illustrate particular cultural processes, such as island visitation/utilisation, permanent settlement, and establishment. The sites discussed here have been chosen as illustrating island colonisation in pre-Neolithic and post-Neolithic contexts and as showing parallels and differences between these and Neolithic colonisation activities, specifically their settlement, which are frequently acknowledged colonisation activity. The data confirm the fact that the Neolithic was a key period for colonisation. This is partly because colonisation is often considered the ultimate goal of human activity on islands.
