Beginning in the ninth century BCE the coasts and fertile valleys of Iberia were tapped by Phoenician and Greek merchants and settlers coming from the eastern Mediterranean. An extended international network was created, which attracted the participation of Etruscans, Sardinians, Cypriots, and others. This conference interrogates how these diverse groups first knitted an interconnected space, which led to the making of new economic, cultural, and environmental horizons before the Mediterranean was politically connected under Rome. The conference presents novel data and perspectives with a focus on the negotiation and construction of identities and territories, as well as new explorations of past environmental challenges.

Organized by Michael Dietler (University of Chicago, Anthropology) and Carolina López-Ruiz (University of Chicago, Divinity School and Department of Classics) as part of the Negotiating Identities, Constructing Territories research project at the Neubauer Collegium.

Co-sponsored by the Franke Institute for the Humanities, the Center for International Social Science Research (CISSR), the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC), the Divinity School, and the Departments of Anthropology and Classics at the University of Chicago.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE