Ancient Italian History and the Rise of Rome: Part 2

In ancient Italy between the 15^th and 12^th centuries B.C. the Copper and Bronze ages where well on their way. The use of copper metal and its eventual transformation into bronze allowed the ancient cultures of Italy to start creating more advanced tools. However, metals in Italy were scarce, therefore, despite the fact that some tools were created using copper and eventually bronze, stone remained the preferred material.

Because of the lack of metals and geography, three main Neolithic cultures would emerge among the original inhabitants of Italy. The first culture is known as the Urn-Field culture which was a northern culture whom helped advance agriculture and the domestication of animals. The second culture was an Apennine culture which was a semi-migration culture that relied more on herding than actual agriculture.

Finally, there was even a third culture that emerged of more foreign influence. The Mycenaean Greeks began to infiltrate into Italy at this time and began to establish trade posts in the south. Their main reasoning for creating these trade posts was access to the metal of Etruria and the obsidian from Lipari Island.

So, as the inhabitants of ancient Italy advanced into the Copper and Bronze ages there appeared three separate cultures that would eventually make contact with each other. The difference between these cultures was influenced by three attributes: the access to metal, access to obsidian, and access to fertile farmland.

The Emergence of Two Different Cultures and the Influence of a Third:

Three main archaeological sites are known were traces of the Copper Age could be found. In the north, one site can be found at Remedello near Brescia. At this site one can see the influence of the Polada culture which had establish themselves near Lake Garda and had somewhat spread across Northern Italy. In the south there are two main sites that carry the remains of the Copper age at Rinaldone in Tuscany and at Gaudo near Paestum not far from Salerno.

At these sites pottery and some metal tools where found. However, it would seem that the populace that inhabited these villages where still making most of their tools into stone. Again, this goes back to the fact that metal resources in Italy were still a scarce commodity with the exception of Etruria.

Another difference between the sites was the arrangements of the settlements. It would seemed that since the northern cultures spent most of their time in agriculture, their settlements seemed more permanent than those of the Apennine cultures to the south. Again, this could contribute to the fact that Italy offered more fertile plains in its northern frontier and only mountainous terrain in her central and southern frontiers. So, automatically, one can see that these two cultures differ in the fact that one was a more settled culture where the other still relied on migration for its survival.

The Northern Cultures: The Urn-field Culture

The plains just beyond the Alps was fertile and flat and ideal for farming whereas most of the rest of Italy where mountainous and not very suitable for agriculture (not to say it could not be done but possibly not worth the effort.) Therefore, one can see that in the north we have a populace that would settle in the plains and commence in farming the land.

The villages and development of the northern inhabitants was concentrated around the lakes (like Lake Garda) and the Po valley. It is believed that the inhabitants of these areas originated from the Danube area farther north and started migrating in to Italy possible as early as 14^th to 13^th century B.C. and spoke an Indo-European language.

The one distinct feature of this culture was the fact that they cremated their dead and place them in urns in which were set aside in cemeteries built outside their villages. In fact, archeologists actually started to call this culture the ”Urn-Field Culture,” due to the fact that they placed the ashes of their dead into urns prior to burial.

Another distinct feature is that this culture was heavily invested into agriculture. This is probably due to the fact that they would have access to the more fertile valleys at the foot of the Alps. In fact, most of the settlements excavated in the north show a wide variety of remains of plants and fruits such as wheat, apples, beans, lentils, hazel nuts and pears. There are also signs of domestication of animals like fowl, ducks, and horses.

These settlements consisted of grass huts built on top of piles or wood (perhaps for flooding?) The villages where also built in blocks with streets running between the huts. Archeologists started to call these settlements Terramare which is a name derived from the black earth which modern farmers use for fertilizer due to its nitrogen rich elements.

So, the northern tribes were agriculturists who lead more settled lives and only hunted wild game to implement their diet. These settlements remained in the northern plains and never got pass the modern provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia, Parma, and Piacenza.

It is also believed that the northern cultures used metal that they did find for trade. They probably mostly traded with the inhabitants of the Danube in which they originated from. So, it would seem they had more access to metals (probably from Etruria) to make better weapons and tools. So, as it comes to the Bronze Age, the northern cultures may have been a bit more advanced than their southern counterparts as it pertains to making metal tools. Plus, they had knowledge of agriculture which allowed them to augment their diets.

The Apennine Culture:

While the northern culture where more farmers and settlers, the Apennine culture where slightly more nomadic and herdsman. The Apennine culture was well established by 1500 B.C. but may not have been as advanced as the northern tribes. Again, this could be chalked up to the fact that in the central and southern part of Italy you have more mountainous terrain plus hardly any metal resources. So, the Apennine were semi-nomadic and basically moved from the mountains to the valley below depending on the seasons. This makes since do to the fact that since farming was not much of an option, the Apennine culture had to rely more on herding for their diet.

They were a mix between the Neolithic peoples of the Copper Age and warriors (in small groups) that arrived from the Aegean world over the years. They probably spoke an Indo-European language. In fact, due to their semi-nomadic ways, their language may have spread across Italy faster and may have been the ancestor of the Umbro-Sebellian dialect spoken by the early Samites. They also were probably more in contact with the ancient Greeks who started colonizing in the southern part of Italy.

The last distinct feature that makes the Apennine culture different from the Urn-Field culture of the north was the fact the Apennine culture buried their dead and did not use cremation.

Mycenaean Greek Influences:

The last culture that where dominating Italy during the Bronze Age would seem to be the Mycenaean Greeks. Mycenaean pottery has been found in Syracuse, Mylae in north-eastern Sicily, and the island of Ischia off of Naples. Most of these Greek artifacts are dated back as early as 1250 B.C. There have also been other signs that the Greeks may have been in Lipari as early as 1400 B.C.

It would seem that most of the early settlements that the Greeks did create where more trading posts than colonies. It is believed, but not quite certain, that the original Greeks that did arrive to the west where more than likely part of the Minoan Crete influence which was a dominant power in the Aegean world at the time. They were more than likely looking for metal resources for trade. It is certain that they were very interested in the obsidian found at Lipari. Their most important trading port would have been at Tarentum in which they would have had access through the heel of Italy, up the Adriatic coast to Sicily. Indeed, this outpost would have been their main trading hub until their own world collapsed around the 12^th century B.C.

Eventual Contact between Cultures:

Eventually by the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, these cultures would have made contact and possibly started trading with each other. It is believed that the Apennine culture would have already being trading with the Greeks and in turn could have been an undirected connection between the Urn-Field cultures of the north and the Greeks. However, this is only a hypothetical assumption.

There were also some signs of influences adapted by the Apennine culture as it pertained to the north. In some instances, it is found that in some villages the Apennine may have started to cremate their dead instead of using inhumation. Plus, they may have started to pick up agriculture from the northern cultures.

Finally, all three cultures probably saw the obsidian of Lipari a most desired commodity and trade probably rotated around that fact. Either way, cultural differences would eventually mix between these three cultures. However, there most differences would remain unique to their specific cultures even in Roman times.