This book presents a synthesis of the Prehistory of Asia Minor between about 20,000 and 2000 BC. It discusses the transformations of human societies in Asia Minor from small-scale groups engaged in hunting and gathering to complex, hierarchically organised communities with an economy based on agriculture and industry.

The land of Asia Minor sits at a critical junction between the continents of Europe and Asia. For this reason, it has often been seen as a land-bridge through which cultural developments were transmitted. In this book it will be argued, however, that Asia Minor is better understood as a land in which cultural developments followed a distinctive trajectory from as early as 9000 BC. In this regard, the term ‘Asia Minor’, which implies that we are dealing with a small continent, captures an essential characteristic of this territory.