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The Archaeology of Islands

The Archaeology of Islands. By Paul Rainbird. Topics in Contemporary Archaeology (Series editor, Richard Bradley). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 2007. ISBN-978–0521–85374-3 (Hardback GB £40.00; US $80.00); ISBN-978–0-521–61961-5 (Paperback GB £14.99; US $25.99), 216 pp, 18 illustrations. I used to think I knew what the archaeology of islands is all about. If I take this book’s core message to heart, I have been wrong all along. Island archaeology is not about islands. Island and coastal archaeology (the editors of this journal will be pleased to see the inclusion of the latter) is about the sea. Somewhat defensively I might try to shore up my ego by declaring that this book, therefore, is mislabeled. It should be titled The Archaeology of the Sea. Quibbles and self-defensive maneuvers aside, however, what does Paul Rainbird tell us about island archaeology in his new book? The opening chapter, “A consciousness of the earth and ocean: the creation of islands,” historically surveys the idea