Session: #111

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
1. Networks, networking, communication: archaeology of interactions
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
CANCELLED No Braudel for the Balkans? Forging a New, Interconnected Prehistory of the Balkan Peninsula
Content:
The Balkan Peninsula (sometimes glossed as “the Balkans” or Southeast Europe) includes the territory south of the Danube and Drava rivers and bordered by the Adriatic, Black, Ionian, and Aegean seas. The cultures within this part of Europe are as diverse as the geography that defines the peninsula. Traditionally, archaeological work in the region has focused on historical periods (e.g., the Classical, Roman, and Medieval periods) and has been motivated by historical questions, especially about the relationship of Balkan peoples to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Increasingly, however, the Balkans are being studied in their own right, with an emphasis on prehistory, and with growing recognition of the interconnections the region had with wider Mediterranean and European societies, beyond Greece and Italy. Nevertheless, this more recent Balkan-focused research stands in stark contrast to the long-standing scholarly traditions that have recognized the Mediterranean and continental Europe as discrete historical entities. There is, simply put, no Braudel for the Balkans.

While there is an extensive record of prehistoric archaeological research in the Balkans, both indigenous and foreign, much of it remains inaccessible to general audiences, published in obscure journals and in many different languages. Recently, however, as the Balkan nations have opened to the outside world, a new, growing interest in their archaeological records has emerged, along with a desire to place them into wider archaeological contexts. This session is designed to accommodate papers by prehistorians working throughout the Balkans. It will provide an opportunity for communication, comparison, and inter-regional model building. Participants will be asked to consider carefully whether the Balkans have always been “balkanized” and the session will demonstrate, we hope, that, more and more frequently today, Balkan archaeologists are working together, across national borders, providing new, innovative understandings of the Balkan past.
Keywords:
Balkan, Prehistory, Interconnections
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:

Organisers

Main organiser:
Michael Galaty (United States) 1
Co-organisers:
William Parkinson (United States) 2
Attila Gyucha (Hungary) 2
Affiliations:
1. University of Michigan
2. Field Museum