Mediterranean Island History and Archaeology Course Description (2019) (original) (raw)
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European Journal of Archaeology, 2008
The Mediterranean Sea, in particular the northern coasts of its eastern half, from the Adriatic to the Aegean seas, has been poorly represented till now in the European Journal of Archaeology. The idea about the present special issue originated precisely from the desire to bring the EJA closer to the Mediterraneans, to make the latter aware of the fact that the EJA is also a forum for their specific research interests and regions, and at the same time to help the EJA readers obtain more information about archaeological issues, preoccupations, and research trends in the Mediterranean. An opportunity was offered as our proposal for an issue of the EJA specially dedicated to this theme was accepted by all the members of the EJA Editorial Board, whom we warmly thank.
Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean
Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean, 2023
Accompanying an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, this book explores island identities in the ancient Mediterranean, questioning how ‘insularity’– being of an island – affected and shaped art production and creativity, architectural evolution, migrations and movement of people. It extends beyond the ancient, incorporating current discourses on island versus mainland cultural identities, in contemporary Art and other disciplines. Throughout history, islands have been treated as distinct places, unlike mainland and continental masses. In geographic terms, islands are merely pieces of land surrounded by water, but the perception of island life has never been neutral. Rather, the term ‘insularity’ – belonging to/being of an island – has been romanticized and associated with otherness. Islands have often been deemed to have different histories from the mainland and with more readily isolated socio-political, cultural and economic characteristics. Yet connectivity has also been an important feature of island life as the sea can be a linking rather than just a dividing body, motivating and maintaining informal and formal connections. 55 unique archaeological objects – most never displayed before outside Cyprus, Crete and Sardinia – tell exceptional stories of insular identity, over a period of 4000 years. The movement of people and episodes of migration between islands and their surrounding mainlands is also explored, through architecture, material culture, crafts and technologies present in the Mediterranean islands. Islanders has a broad diachronic scope and applies integrative analytical approach, bringing together research findings from scientific fields within archaeology, as well as a multi-scalar approach to past human interaction within continental and island environments.
This book offers a comparative study of the archaeology of colonisation, abandonment, and resettlement of the Mediterranean islands. Presenting an extensive and updated body of evidence, it provides a pan-Mediterranean review of island data, a task last completed in the mid-1990s. The study is supported by a database of 150 islands, from the Balearics in the west to Cyprus in the east, and includes the North African islands, which are often overlooked in syntheses of the Mediterranean. Chronologically, the book covers a period of over 10,000 years (from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Iron Age). Collectively, the results of this comparative approach exceed the insights that can be gained from studies of individual Mediterranean islands or even island groups. The comparative and thematic study encourages anthropological reflections on the archaeology of the islands, ultimately focusing on people rather than geographical units, and specifically on the relations between islanders, mainlanders, and the creation of islander identities. Islands offer ideal case studies for exploring social connectivity, episodes of colonisation, abandonment, and alternating phases of cultural interaction and isolation. Their societies display different attitudes towards the land and the sea, which in turn cast light on group identities. The book thus advances theoretical discussions in “Island Archaeology” and their relevance to Mediterranean archaeology. ENDORSEMENTS: "Helen Dawson has provided a strikingly original, thoroughly up-to-date and comprehensive study of Mediterranean island archaeology, adopting a pan-Mediterranean perspective unparalleled in the literature. Treating issues of island colonisation and abandonment, made easy-to-understand with a generous spread of graphs and tables, this volume will be essential reading for anyone interested in island archaeology, within and beyond the Mediterranean." - A. Bernard Knapp, Dept of Archaeology, University of Glasgow; Cyprus-American Archaeological Research Institute - "An engrossing account of the complex story of human colonisation, abandonment and resettlement of the islands of the Mediterranean. Theoretically informed and rooted in a detailed understanding of the archaeological evidence, this book is recommended reading for students of both Mediterranean prehistory and island archaeology." - Ruth Whitehouse, Emeritus Professor, UCL Institute of Archaeology - Reviewed by Dr Dimitra Mylona: https://www.academia.edu/29101268/Orbis\_2015\_13\_Review\_Dawsons\_Mediterranean\_Voyages
Change and Resilience: The Occupation of Mediterranean Islands in Late Antiquity
2017
During the last three decades, the growing interest in the human occupation of islands has contributed to the development of a large number of surveys and excavations along the entire Mediterranean region and beyond. Island archaeology has developed exponentially as islands have grown to be considered excellent laboratories for the study of sociocultural transformations and the interaction between local and foreign cultures. The focus has been traditionally centered in prehistory and in the colonization of islands. The study of island systems, however, can be addressed to understand many different processes across historical periods and not only in prehistory. In fact, islands play a fundamental role in the understanding of the Mediterranean Sea in the transition from the Roman to the Medieval periods. The conference will explore the transformation of Mediterranean islands with a primary focus on settlement patterns and the transformation of landscapes and mindscapes. The idea is to explore how the models of occupation of the islands changed from the Roman to the Medieval Period focusing in change and resilience, in innovation and tradition, in the creation of new settlements and the reoccupation of prehistoric sites. Synthesis on particular large islands or archipelagos will be prioritized as oral presentations by invitation only. However, the open submission of papers is accepted from scholars at any academic level. These papers will be accepted as posters, but the organization cannot cover the cost of travel and lodging. Scholars that will not be able to physically attend are also welcome to send posters that will be displayed and discussed. All oral and poster papers are invited to present a text for publication. Although the major focus of this conference is on settlement patterns, landscape/environment and mindscape transformations, any contribution concerning other aspects of the archaeology of Mediterranean islands in Late Antiquity is also welcomed (see publication). The idea is to bring into light and to summarize the large quantity of research over the islands in the last decades and the recent advances in island archaeology in the Mediterranean for this fascinating period of deep transformation.
Trade and Contact in the Bronze and Iron Ages, 2020
2020, Giame M. Morhange C., Marriner N., Contextualization and Typology of Ancient Island Harbors in the Mediterranean: From Natural Hazards to Anthropogenic Imprints, in Nomads of the Mediterranean: Trade and Contact in the Bronze and Iron Ages, Studies in Honor of Michal Artzy, Brill, leiden, Boston, pp. 105-127.