Ricerc@Sapienza

The paper aims to analyse some late antique accounts indicating attitudes and actions of the Iranians toward bones of individuals credited to be endowed with a supernatural power. The study thus reconstructs an Iranian perspective on practices and beliefs that were widespread throughout Near-Eastern societies during Late Antiquity, becoming shared elements of cross-cultural interaction.

The authors discuss corss-cultural interactions across the Adriatic during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. In particular the spread of Cetina-type pottery in the western Balkans and southern Italy is examined. Moreover, the goals and preliminary results of two connected interational reserach projects focussing on the 'Cetina phenomenon'.

Recent research projects have provided new data to tackle the issue of long- range cultural contacts and movements of small human groups across the Central Mediterranean during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. This complex phe- nomenon, whose epicentre was probably the Dalmatian culture of Cetina, implies intertwined processes of interactions between various regions.