Giulia Saltini Semerari, PhD

Assistant Professor in the Anthropology 

Department and Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

Abstract:

In antiquity the Adriatic Sea functioned as a seam between vast regions of the Mediterranean and Europe, bridging the long, culturally diverse shorelines of the Balkans and the Italian peninsula. It was also one of the more direct sea routes from anywhere in the Mediterranean to the heart of central Europe and, via the latter’s rivers, the Northern and Baltic Seas. These long-distance routes moved amber, and at specific times copper, along the Adriatic coasts and into the Mediterranean. At the same time, shorter-distance, cross-Adriatic connections have been documented from the Neolithic onwards. Yet while diachronic shifts in the shape and intensity of these connections are obvious, our understanding of the local social processes shaping Adriatic connectivity through time is still coarse. To tackle this question, preliminary research has been conducted in the past two years in two river valleys situated on the opposite shores of the Adriatic (Southern Italy and Albania) with the aim of setting up a long-term collaborative project. This talk will provide a general introduction of  the project’s activities, along with a discussion of future research perspectives and its theoretical implications within the framework of Mediterranean archaeology studies.

Bio:

Giulia Saltini Semerari is Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department and Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on Mediterranean interactions, in particular on how local social dynamics intersect with large-scale maritime connectivity patterns. To do so, she integrates traditional field methods with bioarchaeological analyses. A second focus of her research is on how gender is implicated in dynamics of interaction and mobility. She is currently conducting fieldwork in Italy and Albania.