Culture contact dynamics in the Iron Age central Mediterranean: new approaches and new data

At the end of the Early Iron Age (8th-7th centuries BC), one of the most impactful migrations in Mediterranean history cast settlers from the Aegean as far as the Black Sea and Spain, transforming the geopolitical and economic landscape of the Mediterranean. However, its importance as a key case study for understanding how contact shaped the ancient world is proportional to the degree of controversy surrounding its interpretation. This has pitted traditional views of Aegean settlers as hegemonic conquerors of passive indigenous populations against postcolonial views of more complex processes of contact and integration. The most recent results of my two fieldwork projects in southern Italy bring new important data to this debate: (1) the excavation of the site of Incoronata, an indigenous center with strong evidence of co-existence between newcomers and the local community, allows us to identify how space, beliefs and know-how were shared at the site; (2) bioarcheological analyses conducted in the region provide us with much needed demographic information, upending many of the assumptions held so far and opening up new questions. Both lines of research identify local agency as the main driver for these interaction dynamics.