Cross-Cultural Contacts

The study of new lexical forms constitutes particular challenge when it concerns a language, which has been inadequately documented during its history. This work is aimed to show how, in presence of a scarce written corpus, it is possible to identify neologisms that merged in Southern Quechua as a result of the cross-cultural contact between Quechua and Spanish speakers. It explains how formal neologisms (new forms created solely by the means of indigenous inventory) can be distinguished from mere semantic changes in the traditional lexicon and how it is possible to define whether a neologism was created by a native speaker as a part of authentic cultural response or was coined in order to fulfill translation needs. My general purpose is to demonstrate how neologisms can be studied from the perspective of contact linguistics, and how theoretical considerations on neology that developed within terminology studies can aid in this task.

Egypt and Babylonia rank among the greatest powers of the ancient world. However, their contacts with each other, to which the works of classical authors refer, were very limited. This article discusses two episodes in these relations and situates them within the broader framework of historical and social events, the figurative reflection of which can be even found in the culture of Enlightenment Europe.

L’Égypte et la Babylonie comptent parmi les plus grandes puissances du monde antique. Cependant, leurs contacts mutuels, auxquels les oeuvres des auteurs classiques font référence, étaient très limités. Cet article aborde deux épisodes de ces relations et les situe dans le cadre plus large des événements historiques et sociaux, dont le reflet figuratif se retrouve même dans la culture de l’Europe du Siècle des Lumières.

"Two (local) Middle Bronze Age sites in Sicily are known for having yielded Cypriot imports: Thapsos to southeast, and Cannatello in the south-central part of the island. These imports come from contexts with a strong intercultural character, as they are featured by the presence of items from other Mediterranean areas, especially Mycenaean Greece. Moreover, the existence of bronze working activities is documented in these sites. Thapsos and Cannatello belonged to a wider network of Middle Bronze Age sites, covering the whole Sicily (from the island of Ustica to the Aeolian Archipelago and, moving southward, Madre Chiesa).
The task of this paper is twofold and deals primarily with the documentation of south-eastern Sicily. The evidence of Cannatello is taken into account in a comparative perspective. The author will firstly attempt to stress some key elements in the problem of the chronology and origin of the Base Ring II juglets from Thapsos’ contexts in south-eastern Sicily. Their origin is, in fact, debated, since two different hypotheses were put forward by scholars: Levantine and local. Taking into account some contextual and chronological data, the author suggests discarding the Levantine hypothesis.
In the second part of the paper, the author will focus on the existence of other goods, yielded mainly by Thapsos tomb contexts, that could be ascribed to Cypriot trade and that could have been arrived to Sicily along with Base Ring II juglets, if the latter are to be considered of Cypriot origin (in this author’s opinion). On the grounds of compositional analysis of grave assemblages, the different use and appreciation of the juglets at Thapsos will be stressed in comparison with other parts of the Mediterranean area. The same is done in relation to other Cyprus-related items, like the Cypriot- fashioned local handmade bowls, objects of the author’s earlier work. It becomes clear that Cyprus- related items at Thapsos are strictly connected to the high-status segment of the local society. To this author’s mind, these ties can give reason to link Thapsos and Cyprus: Thapsos’ elite kept under control the local bronze dagger production and this needed raw material (copper and/or tin) provided by Cypriot counterparts. The role of the local elite in Cypriot long-distance movements will also be explored. It must be stressed that a Thapsos’ type dagger was present aboard the Uluburun ship. This study enables to make some further remarks on the geopolitical condition of the eastern Mediterranean area at the close of the fourtheenth century BC and on its possible drawbacks for Thapsos èlites’ interests."

State socialist societies were influenced not only by a myriad of trans-systemic  interactions,  but  also  by  contacts  among  the  communist  countries. These contacts again ranged from the official (e.g. the cultural propaganda of the notorious societies for friendship with the Soviet Union) to the informal and the illegal. Cultural relations between “brotherly” countries were not limited  to  Europe.  They  also  included  sympathetic  countries  in  the  “Third World.” Diverse cultural flows thus connected the societies of Eastern Europe and  individuals  in  them  with  other  parts  of  the  world,  opening  new  vistas  and spaces of creativity. These relations generated dynamics that transcend official policy intentions. The outcome of these exchanges could never be fully predicted or controlled. Transnational fields of action were an important arena for dissenters. This chapter will present three case studies which highlight the importance of the transnational dimension for cultural opposition in state socialism.

A partire dal IX secolo a.C., la Penisola Iberica gioca un ruolo importante nelle interazioni tra le società autoctone e le nuove popolazioni stanziatesi sul territorio, in particolare i Fenici. Una delle conseguenze più visibili archeologicamente è lo scambio di tecniche e di usanze che crea le condizioni per l’apparizione di nuovi elementi nella cultura materiale di entrambi i partner. Prendendo ad esempio alcuni casi significativi, questo studio esamina l’introduzione di elementi ibridi nella cultura materiale dei siti fenici al fine di comprendere il loro significato e il loro ruolo nella ricostruzione e ridefinizione delle identità all'interno di comunità multiculturali. Nel contesto specifico della produzione ceramica, i processi di ibridazione potrebbero indicare non soltanto l’adozione di aspetti funzionali innovativi da parte delle società indigene, ma potrebbero anche riflettere un’influenza delle tecniche indigene sulla produzione e l’uso di alcuni recipienti nei siti fenici.