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The relationship between cultures belonging to different levels of social complexity is a very relevant topic in the contemporary world where the policy of multiculturalism has recently become an issue of controversial debate. Europe is not only a geographical, but also a historical, political and socio-cultural concept. The common European identity has been shaped over thousands of years, despite the existence of societies of varying degrees of complexity and of different economic and cultural types. As a result, a powerful center has emerged which has been attractive both in positive and negative ways for the populations of the border areas, causing migration processes of different scales since antiquity. A contact zone may be defined as a cultural space (not necessarily well localized geographically, it may be mental), historically established as a result of the interaction of various natural and anthropogenic factors on the basis of long-term networks. The main actors of cultural contacts are a ‘culture producer’ and a ‘culture recipient’. There are channels of transmission of objects and ideas between them, as well as various methods for their use and adaptation. Any participant in cultural contact could function as a culture producer or a culture recipient. The area and nature of cross-cultural contacts were largely determined by environmental conditions, the main means of transport, and the direction of the river and sea routes. The analysis of all these components may result in the identification of different patterns of cultural interaction. The existence of specific contact zones in Europe was already known in antiquity, which is reflected in the literary tradition, primarily in geographical and ethnographic works. The vast array of archaeological data help to clarify and verify the picture of the world created by the Greco-Roman written tradition. This requires the application of new methods of studying the archaeological material, including the implementation of comprehensive multi-disciplinary research. Identifying the genesis, ways and conditions of formation and development of different types of contact zones in ancient times may provide a key to understanding contemporary cultural and historical processes. The lectures will focus on different forms of contact, methods of their study, and various case studies based on the analysis of written sources and archaeological evidence.