Recently, complex interpretations of socio-cultural change in the ancient Mediterranean world have emerged that challenge earlier models. Influenced by today’s hyper-connected age, scholars no longer perceive the Mediterranean as a static place where “Greco-Roman” culture was dominant, but rather see it as a dynamic and connected sea where fragmentation and uncertainty, along with mobility and networking, were the norm. Hence, a current theoretical approach to studying ancient culture has been that of globalization. Certain eras of Mediterranean history (e.g., the Roman empire) known for their increased connectivity have thus been analyzed from a globalized perspective that examines rhizomal networking, cultural diversity, and multiple processes of social change. Archaeology has proven a useful discipline for investigating ancient “globalization” because of its recent focus on how identity is expressed through material culture negotiated between both local and global influences when levels of connectivity are altered. One form of identity that has been inadequately explored in relation to globalization theory is insularity. Insularity, or the socially recognized differences expressed by people living on islands, is a form of self-identification created within a particular space and time. Insularity, as a unique social identity affected by “global” forces,should be viewed as an important research paradigm for archaeologies concerned with re-examining cultural change.
The purpose of this volume is to explore how comparative archaeologies of insularity can contribute to discourse on ancient Mediterranean “globalization.” The volume’s theme stems from a colloquium session that was chaired by the volume’s co-editors at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in January 2017. Given the current state of the field for globalization studies in Mediterranean archaeology, this volume aims to bring together for the first time archaeologists working on different islands and a range of material culture types to examine diachronically how Mediterranean insularities changed during eras when connectivity increased, such as the Late Bronze Age, the era of Greek and Phoenician colonization, the Classical period, and during the High and Late Roman imperial eras. Each chapter aims to situate a specific island or island group within the context of the globalizing forces and networks that conditioned a particular period, and utilizes archaeological material to reveal how islanders shaped their insular identities, or notions of insularity, at the nexus of local and global influences.
1) Introduction: Mediterranean Archaeologies of Insularity in the Age of Globalization
Jody Michael Gordon and Anna Kouremenos
THE BRONZE AGE
2) Coloniality and Globalization: The View from the Cyclades
Eugenia Gorogianni, University of Akron
3) Nuragic Networks: Assessing Globalization and Globalization in a Bronze Age Sardinian Context
Anthony Russell, University of Glasgow
THE IRON AGE
4) Globalization Processes and Insularity on the Dalmatian Islands in the Late Iron Age
Charles Barnett, Macquarie University, and Marina Ugarković, Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb
5) Archaic Korkyra (Corfu): The Dynamism of Insularity and Globalization in the Era of Greek Colonization
David Hernandez, University of Notre Dame
THE CLASSICAL & HELLENISTIC PERIODS
6) Sicilian Tyrants on a Mediterranean Stage
Leigh Anne Lieberman, Claremont McKenna College
7) Fashioning a Global Goddess: The Isis Knot and Insular Connectivity Through the Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean
Lindsey Mazurek, Bucknell University
THE ROMAN & LATE ANTIQUE PERIODS
8) Globalization and Insularity in (Dis)Connected Crete
Jane Francis, Concordia University
9) Globalizing the Cyclades: Networks of Trade and Cult
Rebecca Sweetman, University of St. Andrews
10) One Island, Two Romes: Globalizations and Insularities in Early and Late Roman Cyprus
Jody Michael Gordon, Wentworth Institute of Technology, & William Caraher, University of North Dakota
CONCLUDING RESPONSE
11) Response: Mediterranean Archaeologies of Insularity in the Age of Globalization
P. Nick Kardulias, College of Wooster
Index
Anna Kouremenos is a Senior Associate member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens specialising in the study of identity and material culture in the Greco-Roman world. Her research explores aspects of social, cultural, and island identities and focuses on bringing interdisciplinary perspectives to the fi eld of archaeology.
Associate Professor in Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston
