Pour une étude des contacts culturels en zone frontalière à l’époque romaine : quelques réflexions conceptuelles

Abstract

For a study of frontier cultural contacts in the Roman period : some considerations. Roman frontiers are not barriers between people. They are now treated by modern historiography as contact areas as well as socio-economic and cultural confluences. Cultural contacts are an essential aspect of the development of frontier societies. Therefore historians interested in Roman frontiers have to consider conceptual frameworks of contact situations drawn up not only in Roman history but also in other disciplines. This paper aims to provide some conceptual remarks on the different words proposed by anthropologists, ethnologists and historians to describe contact situations. First, the author addresses the correlation between frontiers and contact areas in modern historiography. Then, she discusses the different concepts of cultural exchanges developed in anthropology and Roman history, including the concept of romanization.