Abstract
The paper serves as a conceptual introduction to the conference on Early and Middle Bronze Age in the Southeast Aegean/Southwest Coastal Anatolian Region (SASCAR). Since many of the conference papers by experts of the region will likely present new and so far unpublished evidence, which can change the way we perceive the SASCAR right now, our aim is therefore a different one.
At first we shall present a more global picture, outlining the phenomena, processes and cultural developments, which we consider crucial in the development of the Aegeo-Anatolian world, starting already in Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic stages and stopping just before the onset of the local Late Bronze Age. We focus on probable impact of the outer world on the SASCAR, and vice versa, what might be the potential impact of SASCAR on the regions around it.
Through the prism of social-cultural concepts, such as proto-urbanisation, social stratification, specialisation, centralisation, maritime networks and connectivity, we hope to offer closer look but from an outer perspective. Finally, we shall attempt to formulate a set of research questions which can serve as a kind of fil rouge, to guide us through the conference towards the final discussion.
Our broader contextualization may also act as a framework for the experts of Southeast Aegean/Southwest Coastal Anatolian sites to debate questions of potential particular SASCAR cultural identity.