There are various reasons why Macedonia has not been studied with the same level of research intensity as some regions of the ancient world. Geographical remoteness and the history of the region in the 20th century have contributed in different ways to this comparative lack of scholarly attention. On the other hand, the development of modern road systems (notably the Egnatia Odos) has contributed to the discovery of new sites and of new insights about the evolution of urban and of rural landscapes (as illustrated in Adam-Veleni, P., Poulaki, E., Tzanavari, K., 2003, Ancient Country Houses on Modern Roads, Athens, Archaeological Receipts Fund).  

The wealth of new data has been partly assimilated into synthetic work and regional analyses. A study of ‘connectivity’ should properly begin with some definition of the boundaries of the region and of the hubs and nodes of population centres. The boundaries of Macedonia varied dramatically at different periods of antiquity and the population centres also fluctuated. The dynamic processes of landscape and population changes need somehow to be accommodated into historical scenarios of a connected social and economic environment. This paper will sketch a model of socio-economic connectivities in the first millennium BCE. Many of the key elements that we associate with ancient Macedonia’s social organisation took form at this time. The demands created by population nodes in turn help to define the relationships between subsistence strategies and the acquisition of new materials.