11.02.2015 - Prof. Dr. Gert-Jan Burgers (Amsterdam)
Western Greeks in their regional setting - Colonization, indigenous groups and resource cultures (SFB 1070 RessourcenKulturen)
In many recent studies on ancient Greek colonization, research is no longer limited to specific groups of Greek colonists and their motives and background, but now includes indigenous groups in the regions they migrated to. Moreover, Greek dominance is no longer assumed; the nature of the relationship between migrants and indigenous communities is now a major research question in itself. In the present paper I would like to focus on two related concepts of prime importance for the study of this theme. The first concerns a shift away from viewing colonization in terms of single events to a point of view that considers it in terms of processes. The second concerns a shift from bipolar interpretative schemes emphasizing a Greek-native divide, towards approaches that cherish a more diversified picture, not only of the immigrant presence in Italy, but also of that of autoctonous communities and of the encounters between the various groups.I will discuss these notions with regard to southeast Italy and in particular the Taranto region, relating theory to fresh archaeological data.