Social Dynamics and Resource Management Strategies in Copper Age Italy: Insights from Archaeological and Isotopic Data

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although the amount of data on the Italian Copper Age has increased significantly in the last decades, little is known about the relationship between humans and the environment. Material culture suggests the occurrence of significant social interactions throughout the Italian Peninsula, while the funerary practices indicate that Copper Age groups were strongly rooted in their territories. Here, we attempt to define the relations within Copper Age groups by investigating one of the main culturally-constructed aspects of a society: dietary practices. These will be addressed through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human and animal bone collagen from a selection of central and southern Italian Copper Age sites ascribed to two of the most representative cultural groups, namely the Rinaldone and the Gaudo. The preliminary results show an overall homogeneity in the dietary habits, which appears to be in contrast with funerary data, and indicates a strong reliance on the local environments for subsistence, with local food choices.