Social and Cultural Change in the Roman Provinces

Residents of Wyoming are familiar with ideas regarding the exchanges of culture between native peoples and encroaching powers moving into their lands. Two thousand years ago, native European peoples faced similar situations as their homelands became the frontiers and provinces of the Roman Empire. After becoming part of Rome, these provinces allegedly became increasingly acculturated, taking on various aspects of Roman culture and cultural identity – a process known as "Romanization". This paper will examine the historical accounts of Romanization, as well as secondary literature today critiquing this interpretation of past cultural change, and will argue for a model of creolization rather than the traditional models representing these shifts as instances of cultural replacement.