CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION IN THE AEGEAN EARLY BRONZE AGE: THE POTTERY FROM AIGION IN ACHAEA

Around the middle of the third millennium BC drastic changes occur in the Aegean in several aspects of material life. One such important change is the introduction of Anatolianizing shapes and features into the ceramic traditions of the Cyclades and the southern east-central Greek Mainland. In this article, I use the ceramic assemblage from the Minasian plot at Aigion to explore these ceramic changes in the southern Greek mainland (Peloponnese) within the framework of cultural hybridization theory. By focusing on the specific example of Aigion, I discuss the multiple factors which contribute to ceramic hybridization, while I explore their impact on our understanding of broader cultural change at Aigion at this time.