From ancient times to the present, spanning across the Mediterranean region from East to West, coastal lifestyles embody a fundamental dimension of human existence.
Coastal areas hold such significance for settlement that we can characterize them as embodying distinct "coastal lifestyles," a concept that finds clear definition in the Mediterranean region from later prehistory onward and maintains its relevance into the present day.
The goal of the project MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL LIFESTYLES is to thoroughly examine coastal lifestyles and their connection to mobility, a key factor that has significantly shaped and still impacts the communities along the Mediterranean seas. This correlation will be explored through the integration of archaeological and bio-archaeological evidence, focusing particularly on studying coastal settlements within their wider territorial framework and over an extended period, with special emphasis on pre- and proto-historical stages.
This study of human-environmental interaction and mobility in the context of coastal lifestyles will integrate environmental and cultural approaches, focusing on questions such as networks of resource exploitation and “landscape learning”, and explain how cultural landscapes and seascapes stretch and contract at different times about their physical horizons, highlighting their sustainability (or lack thereof) in the long run.
