Identity negotiation and social competition through a materiality lens – editorial

Iden i y nego ia ion and social compe i ion h ough
ama e iali y lens– edi o ial
DOI
h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/23368144.2025.1.1
The p esen olume is he esul o aselec ion o pape s p esen ed i s a he 29 h Annual mee -
ing o he Eu opean Associa ion o A chaeologis s in Bel as in 2023 o he session ‘I ’sama e
o space: The ma e iali y o spaces o nego ia ion and social compe i ion om p ehis o y o
medie al imes’. The o iginal EAA session and his olume place he angible exp essions o
communi y in e ac ions a hei hea , adop ing ama e iali y pe spec i e o he diach onic
in es iga ion o social nego ia ion, including no ions o o he ness. We add ess he mul i ac-
e ed exp essions o he human condi ion in he pas by in i ing pape s o conside cul u al
se ings o an agonism and iden i y ( ans) o ma ion widely h ough ama e iali y lens. The
eade o his olume will ind case s udies ha a) co e awide geog aphical, ch onological,
and hema ic ange om B onze Age Ibe ian Peninsula o medie al sou heas e n Eu ope,
and b) explo e he in e play be ween secula and eligious con ex s, as well as be ween he
manmade and na u al en i onmen s.
O ganised ch onologically, he pape s wi hin his olume collec i ely unde sco e he
endu ing human endea ou s o nego ia e iden i y, na iga e social compe i ion, and eshape
ela ionships h ough ma e ial cul u e ac oss millennia. Ou jou ney begins in he La e B onze
Age in Os Cas ullos in Galicia (NW Spain), whe e Ma ia Pila P ie o -Ma inez, Edua do-
-B eogan Nie o -Muñiz, Luis Co dei o -Maañon, and Ma ia Guadalupe Cas o -Gonzalez shed
ligh on apa adigma ic example o ‘Roda’ ype si es. The au ho s sugges ha hese ci cula
s uc u es se ed as mul i unc ional hubs o communal nego ia ion, une a y p ac ices,
and poli ical ga he ings. This esea ch o e s a ascina ing glimpse in o ea ly communal li e
and he physical spaces ha acili a ed social cohesion and in e ac ion in p e -Roman Galicia.
F om no hwes e n Ibe ia, he olume mo es on o I aly and G eece in he 1s millenium
BC wi h he con ibu ion by Vana O anou, Azzu a Sca ci, and A ianna Zapelloni Pa ia. The
a icle examines how me al o i e o e ings ac ed as media o nego ia ing indi idual and
g oup iden i ies in G eek and E usco -Roman sanc ua ies. Th ough case s udies om Thes-
saly, Sicily, and cen al I aly, he au ho s explo e he ma e ial, echnological, and epig aphic
dimensions o b onze and i on o i es, aming sanc ua ies as a enas o social compe i ion,
and in e cul u al in e ac ion. The s udy illus a es how o i e du able ma e ial cul u e and
cul i uals shaped g oup a ilia ions and p omo ed in e cul u al ole ance wi hin he shi ing
sac ed landscapes o he ancien Medi e anean.
Following his, Elisa Pe ego and Ra ael Scopacasa guide us o he dynamic landscapes o
I on Age I aly (1s millenium BC). This s udy me iculously examines how powe s uc u es
we e insc ibed upon and a icula ed h ough he physical en i onmen ac oss di e se eco-
sys ems, wi h speci ic ch onological insigh s in ancien Vene o and Puglia. By analysing he
in e play be ween human agency and na u al se ings, Pe ego and Scopacasa e eal how
speci ic landscapes we e ans o med and u ilised o exp ess and ein o ce social hie a chies
and compe i ion.
STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIX/1, 7–8
8STUDIA HERCYNIA XXIX/1
Mo ing eas wa d, Adele Vo sange ’spape akes us o he hea o ancien G eek eligion,
explo ing how in as uc u e, speci ically oad ne wo ks, acili a ed connec ions o he pi o al
eligious and cul u al cen e o Delphi. Vo sange implici ly explo es how asha ed sac ed
geog aphy and i s accessibili y shaped collec i e iden i y and in e -communi y in e ac ions
ied o he my h o he Omphalos.
Finally, his collec ion o pape s concludes wi h Valen ina Šoš a ić’scon ibu ion, which
shi s ou ocus o he highly sophis ica ed diploma ic wo ld o Dub o nik du ing he 14 h o
15 h c. AD. Šoš a ić me iculously examines he ole o diploma ic gi s no me ely as okens
o exchange, bu as po en symbols in nego ia ion and he in ica e web o in e na ional
ela ions. This s udy unde sco es how ma e ial cul u e in he o m o ca e ully chosen gi s
played ac i ical ole in asse ing powe , o ging alliances, and main aining in luence in he
poli ical landscape o he La e Middle Ages in sou heas e n Eu ope.
Collec i ely, he abo e pape s p o ide acohesi e na a i e on how socie ies ac oss di -
e en e as and geog aphies engaged wi h ma e iali y o o ge iden i ies, na iga e social
complexi ies, and compe e o in luence. Spanning om he B onze Age o he La e Middle
Ages, each s udy en iches uniquely ou unde s anding o how pas socie ies con inuously
shaped hei wo lds and a icula ed hei place wi hin hem h ough ma e ial exp essions
and spa ial o ganisa ion.
Las bu no leas , we since ely hank all he au ho s who sha ed ou ision o ama e iali y
app oach o iden i y nego ia ion and social compe i ion diach onically and whose con ibu-
ions make he p esen olume possible, as well as all he au ho s who o iginally p esen ed
a he session in Bel as back in 2023.
Vana O anou, Azzu a Sca ci, A ianna Zapelloni Pa ia