Similarities and Differences between Italian Early Neolithic Groups: The Role of Personal Ornaments

Abstract

The Early Neolithic is an interesting period for observing the changes that took place in material culture and also in the ideology that influenced the production of personal ornaments. Objects of adornment are useful for understanding how past peoples differentiated themselves on the basis of gender, age, or group affiliation. The Early Neolithic in Italy developed throughout the entire sixth millennium cal. BC, during which the first farming communities settled in the Italian peninsula and islands, with diverse Neolithic groups related to wider-ranging cultural spheres. Early Neolithic ornaments were mainly ring bracelets, manufactured beads and perforated shells or teeth. Through their choice and the raw materials used for their production, individuals and groups emphasized their diverse identities based on shared traditions. Focusing on some of the more significant sites, this article considers similarities and differences in forms and raw materials employed for ornaments by different Early Neolithic groups and how these could have been useful attributes to emphasise identities and in particular the membership of particular social or cultural groups.