Cross-cultural encounters and transformation: Overlapping spheres of interactions in the 3rd millennium BC Central Mediterranean

In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC diverse spheres of interactions were at play in the central Mediterranean: the Bell Beaker one, the Aegean one and the Adriatic one (so-called Cetina sphere). Looking at the territorial distribution of elements related to each sphere, there were zones of overlapping/ interplay particularly in the Italian peninsula, signalling some permeability between these spheres. Different models have been suggested as regards the extension of these interaction spheres, their chronology, their interplay, and the patterns of connectivity underlying each of them. One of the points of debate is as to whether Adriatic/Cetina interactions operated at the ‘periphery’ of the Bell-Beaker sphere or whether these spheres were rather autonomous, prompted by local factors and independent connectivity patterns. By briefly revisiting the different interpretative proposals and the available data, this paper aims at discussing alternative models, also considering the differing aftermaths these interactions had on a regional scale.