This is the first full-length study of the prehistoric history of the Channel Islands since 1937. Using modern techniques of anthropological archaeology and theory Patton records in detail the evidence for the Neolithic period (5000-2000 BC) and develops a model for socio-cultural change in the islands; in particular he examines the effects of insularity on their historical and cultural developemnt. In six appendices he presents details of the islands' flint assemblages, stone axes and pottery, and an inventory of sites.