Ancient accounts of colonization tend to place the indigenous inhabitants of the area in competition – if not open conflict – with the colonizers. Consequently, ancient colonies can seem ethnically homogenous, distinct from the surrounding populations. However, the archaeology of ancient colonies tends to demonstrate some form of cultural exchange, such as the presence of locally-made fibulae in graves, for example, which has previously been taken to demonstrate the existence of Greek-Sicilian marriages in Sicily, although this is based on the notion that pots – or fibulae, in this case – equal people. In later Greek and Roman sources, the Phoenician colonies were typically referred to as being Libyphoenician (e.g. Polybius, 3.33; Strabo, 17.3.19), suggesting a degree of intermixing between locals and incomers substantial enough to leave an observable mark.…
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Ancient History (Digital) - 1 Issue, AH 53