| No one knows exactly when the Cyclades were first | | | | early processing and trading stations for obsidian from |
| inhabited. From obsidian finds in the 8th millennium | | | | Milos. |
| stratum on Milos and in Frankthi Cave in Hermioni | | | | Obsidian, marble and emery were the raw materials |
| (Argolid Peninsula), we can conclude that the Cyclades | | | | used in the Cyclades to make both tools as well as |
| were already inhabited at that time. | | | | artworks. In general, the Cycladic peoples had limited |
| It is generally believed that the Phoenicians and the | | | | resources. This fact inspired them to utilize their |
| Carians inhabited the Cyclades during prehistoric times. | | | | ingenuity, to take advantage of what nature provided |
| Later, the islands came under the Minoan sphere of | | | | and to expand into new activities such as tool-making, |
| influence. | | | | shipping and trade. |
| They were then re-inhabited by the Carians, and finally | | | | Their economy was probably mixed combining |
| colonized by the Ionians. | | | | farming, livestock raising, hunting and fishing, along with |
| The most ancient settlement found in the Cyclades is | | | | the exploitation of local raw materials. |
| on Saliagos, a small islet between Paros and Antiparos. | | | | Cycladic potters developed a technique of painting |
| The settlement dates from the beginning of the late | | | | white designs on a dark back-ground. The pots, which |
| Neolithic period, c. 4300-3900 BC. | | | | are shaped like fruit bowls with a long leg, have white |
| The discovery in 1959 of surface traces of prehistoric | | | | decoration on a dark back-ground. Most characteristic |
| habitation lead to excavations (1964-65), which were | | | | of the Neolithic period are the schematic marble |
| conducted by the British School of Archeology Stone | | | | figurines, the most famous of which is the so-called |
| figurines, anthropomorphic amulets, Milos pottery with | | | | Fat Lady of Saliagos. |
| white decoration, and hundreds of obsidian tools, | | | | During the Bronze Age, Cycladic civilization produced |
| arrowheads and votive offerings were unearthed in | | | | works of art that are unique in the Aegean region. |
| the excavations. | | | | Cycladic idols, carved from local white marble, are |
| A fortification wall with a turret surrounded the | | | | regarded as refined works of mature, sophisticated |
| settlement, which was made up of small residences. | | | | artists. |
| Archaeologists exposed three archaeological strata | | | | By the early Bronze Age (3200-2200 BC) the |
| corresponding to three periods of habitation. Earliest | | | | Cyclades had developed an advanced culture that had |
| known it is speculated that the settlement extended | | | | extensive contact with the other player islands in the |
| into sections that are now underwater. Moreover, it is | | | | region. |
| likely that during that era Saliagos was part of | | | | Shipping had expanded, elevating trade and commerce |
| Antiparos. | | | | to a primary position in the Cycladic economy and |
| The large quantity of obsidian chips found on Saliagos | | | | significantly influencing social development and change |
| is conclusive evidence that the islet was one of the | | | | in the Aegean. |