[Protohistoire] Joseph Maran, Radu Bajenaru, Sorin-Cristian Ailincai, Anca-Diana Popescu & Svend I. Hansen (2020) - Objects, Ideas and Travelers. Contacts between the Balkans, the Aegean and Western Anatolia during the Bronze and Early Iron Age. Volume to the memory of Alexandru Vulpe. Proceedings of the Conference in Tulcea, 10-13 November, 2017, Bonn, Rudolf Habelt, 578 p. EAN 9783774942486 125,00 . For more than 150 years, the prehistoric civilizations of the East Mediterranean have fascinated and attracted numerous scholars interested both in the various manifestations of the respective social order within this geographical zone, and by the role and impact these civilizations may have had on the neighbouring regions. As one would expect, our knowledge is growing continuously, triggered by new archaeological research, the progress of interdisciplinary investigations of archaeological science, and the diversification of theoretical approaches interpreting material culture from an anthropological perspective. The speed of these accumulations is increasing rapidly, while the number of studies and the variety and complexity of the themes is also continuously growing. That is why the periodic organization of conferences on welldefined themes and the publication of the respective volumes are absolutely necessary, not only in order to be able to integrate the new data into the broader picture, but also for the redefinition of the state of research within certain working areas and to show the experimental investigation of new research directions. The present volume is the outcome of a conference with the same title organized at Tulcea, Romania, between the 10th and the 13th of November 2017, dedicated to the memory of Professor Alexandru Vulpe. Four prestigious institutions, two from Romania (the Gavrilă Simion Eco-Museum Research Institute, Tulcea and the Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology, Bucharest) and two from Germany (the Institut für urund Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Heidelberg and the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Eurasien Abteilung, Berlin), with the generous support of the Mayor’s Office in Tulcea, managed to bring together over 50 scholars, most of them friends, colleagues, collaborators, students or simply acquaintances of Professor Vulpe. The intention of the organizers was to provide a suitable environment for sharing opinions and experience, and for an open and positive discussion, to recognize the current state of research on the topic, and to establish stronger connections for future collaboration in this field. Contacts among human communities from various cultural areas, the circulation of people, ideas and objects, or the identification of the main communication routes as well as their role in shaping prehistoric societies are likely to remain forever topics of intense discussion within archaeology. The relations between the Carpathian-Balkan area and the Aegean during the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age was one of the main themes of study for Alexandru Vulpe. As a supporter of the idea of Ex oriente lux, Vulpe always argued for the major role played by the Helladic civilization in the cultural development of the Carpathian- Balkan area. The lectures delivered at the Tulcea conference and the papers published in the present volume highlight once again the complexity of these connections and the multitude of perspectives revealed when approaching such a theme. Although the title of the volume indicates the main geographic areas in question, contributions from other cultural areas (i.e. Central Europe, the Middle Danube, Northern Pontic area, etc.), whose societies were in close contact with those of the Balkans, were also welcome. The four sections grouping the studies in the volume had not been established from the very beginning; they are the result of the subjects approached by the authors. Reading the papers attentively, one notices the diversity of the subjects and approaches and, in most cases, the novelty of the ideas expressed. We hope that the publication will provide research with a reference volume, opening new perspectives on the matters discussed. The present work is the result of the common effort of all authors, spanning a period of over three years. We wish to thank all contributors for their promptness and seriousness in answering our invitation to the volume, as well as for the openness and patience showed during the entire editing process. We are very much indebted to the Mayor’s Office of the community of Tulcea for the financial help and for the hospitality provided to the participants of the conference. Special thanks go to Douglas Fear (Heidelberg) for the careful language editing of the contributions to this volume. Table of contents https://www.academia.edu/43381233/. |