Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

People are connected to each other through social and economic interactions, their possessions, the landscapes in which they live, and their social, cultural, and ideological identities. How do we as archaeologists study these connections to understand the human experience? This session brings together archaeologists working in the Mediterranean region to discuss how we study these different kinds of connections through material remains from the Paleolithic through the modern period. With a focus on material remains, this session includes the presentation of new theoretical models, the deconstruction of grand narratives in history, and the introduction of novel methodologies for understanding the close ties and far-reaching connections that people make. We are particularly keen to discuss the ways in which our work intersects, and as such have organized this session with two question and answer periods to foster conversation between presenters and among the members of the audience.

Other Keywords
Bronze Age • Ceramic Analysis • Iron Age • Historic • Political economy • Architecture • Survey • Theory • Mobility • Trade and exchange

Geographic Keywords
Principality of Monaco (Country) • Kingdom of Spain (Country) • Principality of Andorra (Country) • Gibraltar (Country) • Portuguese Republic (Country) • Republic of Turkey (Country) • Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Country) • Italian Republic (Country) • State of Israel (Country) • Lebanese Republic (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-11 of 11)

  • Documents (11)
Documents
  • The Contemporary Archaeology of Old Cities: State Heritage and its Production in Rhodes and Acre (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Evan Taylor.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Among the historic urban centers represented on the UNESCO World Heritage List, nearly half are located in states of the Mediterranean Basin. Through the lens of contemporary archaeology, this paper traces how the material fabric of historic urban centers is manipulated to conform to particular ideas and visions...

  • Cypriot Clay Bodies: Contact, Corporeality, and Figurine Use in the Cypriot Late Bronze Age (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Emily Booker.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The clay "Astarte" figurines of Cyprus’ Late Bronze Age are enigmatic and well-known, and their emphasis on female reproductive organs lead most scholars to argue for fertilic functions. Yet how were these figurines actually used? And how do they fit within the much larger repertoire of Late Bronze Age figurines...

  • The Development of Plain and Monochrome Wares in Protohistoric Bronze Age Cyprus (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only William Weir.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper will explore the development of the locally produced Plain and Monochrome ware pottery at the Protohistoric Bronze Age (1700-1200 BC) sites of Episkopi-Phaneromeni and Episkopi-Bamboula in Southwestern Cyprus. The Protohistoric Bronze Age is a dynamic time for pottery production on Cyprus. It is...

  • Exploring the Engagement, Imagination, and Alignment of Potters and their Practices in Neolithic S. Calabria, Italy (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kostalena Michelaki. Gregory Braun. Ronald G.V. Hancock.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this presentation we use the results of a raw materials survey, replicative experiments in the field and the laboratory, and physicochemical and mineralogical analyses of local geological clays and archaeological ceramics from the sites of Umbro Neolithic and Penitenzeria in Southern Calabria, Italy to ask 3...

  • Littoral Society and the Heterotopic Fabric of Early Medieval ports (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ian Randall.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ports have long been recognized as nodes within grand skeins of connectivity, the thresholds over which goods and ideas move into a wider hinterland. But how, and to what extent, do ports function as their own world, and what can we say about littoral society and the contextual relationship of sea-adjacent peoples...

  • Local Actions and Long-Distance Interactions: Challenging the Paradigm for the Emergence of Social Complexity on Cyprus during the Bronze Age (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Laura Swantek.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Complex social networks or social complexity emerges from the actions and interactions of people as they pass information, goods and services. During the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean, particularly on the island of Cyprus, it has been hypothesized that two actions and interactions are particularly important for...

  • Maritime Mobility during the Western Mediterranean Iron Age (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Melanie Lacan.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Research on the topic of seafaring in the western Mediterranean during the Iron Age has often focused on Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Phoenician activity. By contrast, the maritime endeavors of other coastal populations have largely been ignored. Yet, historical accounts and archaeological evidence indicate that...

  • New Revelations on Mediterranean Bronze Age Iberia through Network Inference (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Wendy Cegielski.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Valencian Bronze Age, located in the modern-day province of Valencia, Spain is an overlooked player in Mediterranean prehistory. The inhabitants are the indigenous peoples and precursors to the Iberians, so famously cited by the Romans, yet so little cited despite being demonstrably connected to the trends of...

  • Over Land, Sea and the Space Between: Evidence for Multi-Scalar Interactions between Eastern Mediterranean and Central European Communities during the Bronze Age (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Zuzana Chovanec.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Bronze Age in both the Mediterranean and Europe represents a period during which new socio-economic relationships were being forged that inextricably linked far-off communities. Within these discursive social networks, new commodities were traded over long-distances, new markets emerged, and along with novel...

  • Political Change and the Social Power of Potters at Idalion, Cyprus during the First Millennium BCE (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Rebecca Bartusewich.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. On Iron Age Cyprus, the polities are described as "city-kingdoms" that are autonomous, independent, and led by kings. Idalion is one such polity located in the south central region of Cyprus. Using petrographic analysis, I investigated the way craft production was impacted by economic, social, and political power...

  • Regional Connections and Variations in the Archaeology of Healing and Disability: The Temples of Asclepius (2019)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jonathan White.

    This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Asclepius was worshiped as the god of healing throughout the Mediterranean from c. 500 BCE to 400 CE. Temples to the god "Asclepieia" have been found across the region, from Epidaurus in Greece, to Pergamon in Asia Minor, to Tiber Island in Rome. In antiquity, asclepieia were renowned as places where the sick...