FAST Lecture | Connectivity in the Adriatic Sea between the Late Bronze Age and the Orientalizing Period: Current Issues and Future Perspectives

Giulia Saltini Semerari is a professor in U-M’s Department of Anthropology and an assistant curator at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology. Her research interests center around connectivity, migration, and colonization in the Mediterranean, particularly southern Italy. The description of her talk is as follows:

In antiquity, the Adriatic Sea functioned as a seam between vast regions of the Mediterranean and Europe, bridging the long, culturally diverse shorelines of the Balkans and the Italian peninsula. It was also one of the more direct sea routes from anywhere in the Mediterranean to the heart of central Europe and, via the latter’s rivers, the Northern and Baltic Seas. These long-distance routes moved amber, and at specific times copper, along the Adriatic coasts and into the Mediterranean. At the same time, shorter-distance, cross-Adriatic connections have been documented from the Neolithic onwards. Yet while diachronic shifts in the shape and intensity of these connections are obvious, our understanding of the local social processes shaping Adriatic connectivity through time is still coarse. To tackle this question, this summer I conducted preliminary research in two river valleys situated on the opposite shores of the Adriatic (Southern Italy and Albania) with the aim of setting up a long-term collaborative project. This talk will provide a general introduction and very preliminary report of this summer’s activities, along with a discussion of future research perspectives within the framework of Mediterranean archaeology studies.

This lecture will take place in the Classics Library (2175 Angell Hall). Light refreshments and snacks will be provided.