Gosner & Hayne/Local Experiences, 1. Moving Forward: Archaeologies of Connectivity and Mobility

This introductory chapter presents the aims, themes, and theoretical underpinnings of this book, which fill gaps in current research on mobility and connectivity. We argue that research should pay increasing attention to small-scale, and regional perspectives as well as to landscapes and contexts of colonization beyond only urban and coastal areas to illuminate the experiences of diverse local communities who were perhaps only obliquely affected by large the scale movements of Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. Further we believe that by focusing on the West-Central Mediterranean from comparative, longue dureé perspectives can help to bridge traditional research divides along national lines and between prehistoric and classical archaeology. A discussion of our overall rationale for the work is followed by a brief overview of the volume’s contributions, including discussion of the three main thematic sections on human movement, material connectivity, and landscapes.