The subject of Mediterranean prehistory is both vast and complex which inevitably means that scholars tend to concentrate on a particular region or theme. Although it is true to some extent of this collection of essays, the contributors treat the Mediterranean as a single concept, an entity defined by its constituent parts, `tacking between specific cultural details and broader central issues'. The twelve essays cover the period from the Neolithic to the Iron Age and geographically range from Spain to the Levant, placing emphasis on issues of commonality, social interaction and geography.