Helen Dawson (Prehistoric Archaeology), member of the editorial board of the island studies journal SHIMA and advisory board member of the Small Island Cultures Research Initiative (SICRI), uses network science in order to understand the archaeological record of the small islands of the central Mediterranean during the later prehistoric period. Her focus is on population mobility and maritime interaction during the Neolithic and Bronze Age and their effects on island cultural identities. Her work within the DFG network will focus on Sicily’s smaller islands and the Cyclades and will entail studying the islanders’ material culture in light of  their practices and how they changed as a result of interaction. Case studies will include ceramics, metals, exotic items, and architectural practices (domestic, burial, and ritual) in order to understand the active role of islanders in shaping interaction and how interaction shaped islander identities in return.