Negotiating Island Identities explores the history of interaction between Crete and the Cycladic islands from the late Middle to Late Bronze II periods when Minoan influence was at its peak. Based on a thorough investigation of pottery assemblages from key sites, the book advocates a rethink of established acculturation scenarios (such as "Minoanisation") in relation to the Cycladic islands. Openness or closure towards outside influences was not predetermined by cultural, geographical or ecological variables but was socially constructed and, in some cases, might even be considered a conscious social strategy. As such, the book contrasts static and deterministic models of insularity and contact with complex, flexible and culturally determined perspectives which acknowledge the ability of island communities to consciously fashion their worlds and make choices about the nature and degree of interaction with their neighbours.

More controversially, perhaps, the author argues that Minoanisation, just like subsequent Mycenaeanisation and preceding Middle Helladic influence, should be understood merely as a particular "fashion trend" within long-standing and ever-changing Cycladic acquisition patterns rather than an exceptional phenomenon imposed by a culturally superior Cretan culture.

Ina Berg is Lecturer of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Manchester. She holds an MPhil in Classics and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge, UK. Her research focuses on the Cyclades (Greece) in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, in particular the question of cultural interaction between Minoans and the Cycladic islanders. She has also published numerous articles on ceramics, including the application of X-radiography.