Calabria through Time: Regional Mobilities and Settlement Dynamics (15 min)

Presenters

Francesco Quondam, University of Vienna

Abstract

Located at the southwestern tip of the Italian peninsula, Calabria lies in the heart of the Mediterranean. Its position repeatedly favored the inclusion of the region at the center of important networks of connections. In the early first millennium B.C.E. the growth of long-distance Mediterranean networks resulted in an exceptional intensification of mobility, a fact reflected in the settlement dynamics of the region—by the Archaic period Calabria was home to many thriving communities, some of which identified themselves as Greek poleis. Yet this increase in long-distance connectivity must be seen against a background of long-standing and ongoing regional connectivities within Calabria itself. This paper will foreground the dynamic regional mobilities of Calabria, analyzing the settlement dynamics of the region between the Final Bronze Age and the Archaic period.

In the Final Bronze Age (1150–925 B.C.E.) a variety of distinct local pathways are evident: in some parts of Calabria the population appears to be split into many small dispersed settlements; while greater centralization can be observed in others, as in the case of Torre Galli on the Poro Promontory. In the Early Iron Age (925–700 B.C.E.) new patterns of regional mobility led to the appearance of numerous large settlements, located mainly in the southern part of the region and along the Messina Strait. In contrast, the beginning of the Archaic period (700–500 B.C.E.) represents a phase of discontinuity, with the abandonment of numerous sites and the appearance of new settlements, some of which would later evolve into Greek poleis. Yet it is also important that in this phase, local mobilities were also aimed at some entirely new sites where Greek forms of material culture are not dominant, such as those located along the Gulf of Policastro. Patterns of urbanism and demographic change are more complex than have hitherto been thought.

  AIA-5A