Phoenician influences and the following Greek colonization since the 8th century BC brought various cultural elements from the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean to the western Mediterranean regions. During the early Iron Age (8th - 5th century BC), intense contacts were established between the 'Hallstatt culture' groups living in Central Europe and the cultural groups in Iron Age Italy (Etruscans, Greeks) as well as the surrounding areas in southern France and the Adriatic region. The course deals with these cultural interdependencies evident in the material culture in Central Europe, especially in the form of imports and imitations. The course introduces to terms and concepts such as acculturation, assimilation and technology transfer in a prehistoric context. close