Communication in Ancient Anatolia

Introduction

The project addresses the question of messages, modes, and participants in the communication of three Anatolian cultures: Lydians, Luwians, and Phrygians, ca. 1200–546 BCE. Living in adjacent territories, they were verifiably in contact with one another.

Research Gaps

These cultures are normally studied in isolation by different academic subjects, leading to missed intercultural references and interconnections. This isolation prevents the reconstruction of a comprehensive picture. The three cultures, their interesting and diverse text sources, their relationships with one another, and their (dis)unity as cultural entities are currently under-researched. Additionally, only parts of their text corpora are available in modern editions.

Methodology

The project will be the first to study both internal and external sources from other Ancient Near Eastern and Classical texts together. It will employ a combined semiotic and narratological approach examining:

1. Text structure
2. Processes of meaning-making
3. Communication and transmission

Significance of Texts

Texts and their material supports not only generate and exchange meaning, but they also preserve information on communication processes in the context of specific realms. Reading these texts with a focus on narrative and discourse will allow for new insights into formative parameters of ancient societies, especially:

• Values
• Cognitive patterns
• Needs and motifs of the participants

Shift in Analysis

This marks a huge shift from traditional, event-based readings towards an analysis of belief and behavior. The project will be groundbreaking in its application and adaptation of concepts from semiotics and narratology, which were developed for the study of the modern world and have never before been applied to the study of these ancient texts.

Expected Outcomes

The project aims to draw a new picture of cultural clusters and their parameters, providing new data for understanding ancient and modern identities and the potential of cultural differences. Its novel insight into communication can be extended to other Ancient World studies.