Abstract
This paper seeks to unify, systematise, and perhaps smooth some of these obvious peaks and valleys of archaeological interest. More specifically, the following analysis will scrutinize the progressive interaction of the NE Aegean with the southern Aegean 'world', principally the Cretan one, during the MBA and early LBA, as well as with the Greek mainland throughout the whole LBA. In our view, there is no reason to abandon the use of hybridisation for the NE Aegean, especially because, as we demonstrate in this paper, it provides a very good framework for examining four aspects that differentiate it from other parts of the Aegean: (1) the active response of the local population (more active in the north than in the south); (2) the expression of resistance to the incoming culture; (3) the emergence of a whole new 'culture', as opposed to the creation of singular material cultural traits which are well visible in other parts of the Aegean; and finally, (4) not unlike in biology, a tendency towards sterility: the new hybrid culture does not show any internal development and yields no successors. Rather than a single idea or a unified concept, hybridity is an association of ideas; it is therefore important to situate any discussion of hybridity in a specific context, where the conditions that shape it are addressed.