Connectivities in Prehistoric and Classical West/Central Mediterranean

The prehistoric and classical Mediterranean world were alive with small scale interconnections, but archaeology still focuses on the macro themes of large scale societies (Greek, Phoenician or Roman) who divided up the Mediterranean between them. These are of course important, but often neglected are the micro connections that took place within and between the different local prehistoric and protohistoric communities which can provide a more nuanced flavor of the myriad of complex interactions that took place in the network of ancient activities. Moreover, connectivity is often used only to describe maritime contact between islands and landmasses, and while, for the Mediterranean, it is important to understand contact by sea the mountainous landscape of many of the Mediterranean areas, cut by rivers or broken by plains, also provide possibilities for connections and are fruitful geographies for investigation. In this session, focusing on the lesser studied western Mediterranean we want to encourage comparative, localized perspectives and—at the same time—break down the prehistoric-historic divide that often hampers research in this area