num_pages: 232
description: Presents a thematic collection of papers dealing with the Stone Age and Bronze Age archaeology of the Ionian Sea, situated off the south western Balkan peninsula. It is based on an international conference held in Athens, Greece in January 2020.The eastern Ionian occupies a geographically complex area, which since the Pleistocene has undergone significant alterations due to tectonic activity and sea-level fluctuations. This dynamic environment, where islands, mainland, and sea intertwined to present different landscapes and seascapes to the human communities exploring the region at different times in the past, provides an ideal setting for their study from a diachronic perspective.This book deals thematically with the processes of circulation of people, materials, artifacts and ideas by examining patterns of settlement, burial and multi-layered interconnections between the different communities via land and sea. It investigates aspects of regional and interregional communication, isolation, collective memory and the creation of distinct identities within and between different cultural and social groups. It focuses on the islands of the Central Ionian Sea, offering new data from excavations and surveys on Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Ithaki and the smaller islands of the Inner Ionian Archipelago between Lefkada and Akarnania. The cultural interchange between the islands and the continental coasts is reflected in the volume with the addition of chapters dealing with contemporary sites in west Greece and southeast Italy.The Ionian, often regarded as 'at the fringes' of the Aegean, the Balkan and the central Mediterranean archaeological discourse, has lately offered new and exciting data that not only enrich but also alter our perceptions of mobility, settlement and interaction. The collection of papers in this book enhances theoretical discussions by offering a geographically and culturally comparative approach, ranging from the earliest Palaeolithic evidence of human presence in the region to the end of the Bronze Age.Table of ContentsContributorsPrefaceIntroductionPart A. Island ArchaeologyComparative perspectives in ‘island archaeology’: a view from the Ionian SeaHelen DawsonPart B. Prehistory1. Lithics as diachronic proxies for the circulation of people and ideas in the dynamic Ionian landscapeChristina Papoulia2. Prehistoric settlement in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago and its Ionian island connectionsNena Galanidou, Maria Gatsi, Olympia Vikatou, Antonis Vasilakis, Catherine Morgan, Jeannette Forsén, Vivian Staikou, Christina Papoulia and Panagiotis Zervoudakis3. Palaeolithic chipped stone industries from Zakynthos, Ionian islands, Greece. Interpreting the new evidence within the western Greek and Adriatic contextStefanos Ligkovanlis and Georgia Kourtessi-Philippakis4. Beyond the horizon. Stone artefacts and social networks in Late Neolithic Drakaina Cave, Kefalonia island, western GreeceGeorgia Stratouli, Tasos Bekiaris and Vasilios Melfos5. Evidence of settlements on Kefalonia during the Final Neolithic and the Early Helladic periodAndreas Sotiriou6. The communal ceramic traditions of prehistoric IthacaAreti Pentedeka, Catherine Morgan and Andreas Sotiriou7. The Early and Middle Bronze Age in the Ionian Sea. New evidence from ZakynthosGert Jan Van Wijngaarden, Ayla Krijnen, Nienke Pieters and Corien Wiersma8. Aitoloakarnania and the Ionian Sea in the Åarly Bronze a history of interactionVenediktos LanarasPart C. The Late Bronze Age9. Islands in the a maritime perspective of the south-central Ionian islands in the Late Bronze AgeChristina Souyoudzoglou-Haywood10. The palaeo-geographic development of Livadi Marsh, implications for the detection of an ancient harbour and anthropogenic settlementPeter Styles, George Apostolopoulos, John R. Underhill, John Crawshaw, Olympia Vikatou and Eleni Papafloratou11. The Archaeological Shoreline Research Project on the cultural semantics of the promontory of Kapros, southeast Kefalonia, in the Bronze AgeEvyenia Yiannouli12. Diverging trajectories within the west Mycenaean koine : the evidence from KefaloniaOdysseas Metaxas13. Migrants, refugees and social restructuring in Late Helladic KefaloniaIoannis Voskos14. The nature of warfare in western Greece and the Ionian islands during the Late Bronze AgeThanasis J. Papadopoulos15. The Ionian-Adriatic interface as a landscape of mobilityFrancesco Iacono and Riccardo Guglielmino Continuity in the material culture of from the Late Bronze Age to the historical period in Drakaina cave by Agathi Karadima
language: English
title: Archaeology of the Ionian Sea: Landscapes, seascapes and the circulation of people, goods and ideas from the Palaeolithic to the end of the Bronze Age
publisher: Oxbow Books