Roundtable EAA 2021 - Interdisciplinary studies on Sicily: Case studies and methodology (original) (raw)

The central Mediterranean has been a crossroad of cultures since prehistoric times. A system of larger islands, such as Sicily and Malta, surrounded by smaller isles and archipelagos, created an ideal land/seascape where people could move and share their material culture. However, far from creating a homogeneous cultural entity, Sicily and the islands around followed different trajectories of development. In the last years, the application of analytical methods (i.e. landscape archaeology, bioarchaeology, geochemical analyses, ...) shed lights on patterns of human-landscape interactions, knowledge transfer, diet change, and people movements, which however remained limited to some spot-areas unbalancing our perspective of the wider region. This roundtable aims at providing a discussion on the current status of the interdisciplinary studies on Sicily and how to move forward to the advancement of our knowledge of its cultural landscape from prehistoric times to recent times. The discussion will be encouraged around these main topics: interdisciplinary studies over time (historiography); new approaches and techniques (methodology); knowledge advancement (research); specialisation and knowledge gaps (academic formation). While focused on chronologically and geographically, this roundtable can provide insights for researchers working on other regions for the broadness of the subjects discussed. The discussion will be guided by the presentations of three key speakers, who have extensive experience in the field of material culture studies, landscape analysis, and digital archaeology, and who will introduce some of the topics listed. We welcome short presentations by early-stage researchers working on material culture, digital, landscape, and experimental archaeology in Sicily.