Includes bibliographical references and Index

Climate and vegetation: The Mediterranean climate / Fredric Cheyette ; The vegetative Mediterranean / Paolo Squatriti -- Turning points and phases: Mediterranean "prehistory" / Cyprian Broodbank ; The ancient M editerranean / Nicholas Purcell ; The medieval Mediterranean / Dominiqu e Valérian ; The early modern Mediterranean / Molly Greene ; Mediterra nean modernity? / Naor Ben-Yehoyada ; Po-mo Med / Michael Herzfeld -- P olitics and Power: Thalassocracies / David Abulafia ; Nautical technolo gy / Ruthy Gertwagen ; Piracy / Clifford R. Backman ; Cartography / Emi lie Savage-Smith -- Settlement and Society: Settlement patterns / John Bintliff ; Cave dwelling / Valerie Ramseyer ; Family and household / Pa ola Sacchi and Pier Paolo Viazzo ; Disease / Robert Sallares ; Forms of slavery / Youval Rotman -- Language and Culture: Material culture / Te hmina Goskar ; Visual culture / Cecily J. Hilsdale ; Mediterranean lite rature / Sharon Kinoshita ; Lingua franca / Karla Mallette ; Hybridity / Steven A. Epstein -- Religions in conflict and co-existence: Ethno-re ligious minorities / Brian A. Catlos ; Shared sacred places / Maria Cou roucli ; Jews / Fred Astren -- The Mediterranean and a wider world: The Mediterranean and the Atlantic / Teofilo F. Ruiz ; The Mediterranean a nd Africa / Ray A. Kea ; The Mediterranean and Asia / Nicholas Doumanis ; The Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean / Elizabeth Ann Pollard.