Introduction I The Physical Environment and History of the Area II Ecological Adaptations of Historic Times Versus Palaeoenvironmental Possibilities III History of the Investigation IV The Stone Age Settlements: The Early Regional Tradition V The Ubaid Settlements: A Process of Interaction VI The Tarut Island Settlement and the Gulf Third Millennium BC Trade Networks VII Aspects of Subsistence, Settlement and Cultural Patterns: A Theoretical Overview VIII The Analytical Perspective: A Cultural Model of Interpretation IX Summary and Conclusion