Knodell & Leppard/Regional Approaches, 5. Continent, Region, Micro-Region, Site

European archaeology is historically schizophrenic. Grand syntheses of the entire continent are created through the narrow perspective offered through the excavation of individual sites. While such macro-scale syntheses are essential for the discipline of archaeology, they need to be tethered to specific regional and micro-regional studies. This chapter builds upon two themes that pervade John Cherry’s many contributions to archaeology: regional-scale studies and the development of complex economic and political systems. By comparing and contrasting regional studies in two distantly related parts of the European continent — the Carpathian Basin and the Aegean — the author discusses the long history of systematic, intensive, regional studies and how earlier survey projects have facilitated the more recent, micro-regional studies that incorporate the cutting-edge research techniques that only recently have become available. The integration of these micro-regional datasets is the new frontier for regional studies.