Colonialism and Migration in the Ancient Mediterranean

Posted: 8 Oct 2012

Date Written: October 2012

Abstract

People and their material culture have moved across the Mediterranean since early prehistory. By the early first millennium BC, a crucial change occurred when people began to establish permanent settlements overseas and migrated in substantial numbers. This review focuses on the critical centuries of the Iron Age to examine how thinking about colonialism and migration in the Mediterranean has changed in recent decades. Because Mediterranean and Classical archaeology have always paid more attention to the colonial settlements founded than to the people who migrated, this review begins with an examination of colonial terminology to assess its conceptual roots and the influences of modern colonialism and nationalism. This leads to a discussion of approaches to migration and colonialism in recent decades and consideration of present postcolonial views of colonial situations and (material) culture. The review concludes with a brief survey of potential connections between migration studies and Mediterranean colonialism.

Suggested Citation

van Dommelen, Peter, Colonialism and Migration in the Ancient Mediterranean (October 2012). Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 41, pp. 393-409, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2158246 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-081309-145758

Peter Van Dommelen (Contact Author)

Brown University ( email )

Box 1860
Providence, RI 02912
United States

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